March + April 2023 - Monthly review
In this post, I’m going to be sharing my own personal monthly reflection for March + April 2023.
I do a personal and business wrap-up when I do my weekly planning at the end of every month and I’ve been documenting what’s been working for me, what I’ve learned and any insights I’ve gathered along the way.
I love to read other people’s stories and find I learn so much as a result so I wanted to share the same with you!
This month I’ve combined both March + April because I got too caught up at the start of April to finalise the March one formally here (I still did it in my weekly planning session though) and with the weeks ticking by I just decided it was easier this way.
March 2023 overview
March was a very big month at work for me. I had to run an event for an international cohort of CEO’s which I’ve never done before and I was fairly nervous about it but it went super well thankfully and I got plenty of positive feedback!
At the end of March, I was also asked by my team leader if I’d like to write an article for our April internal newsletter which would go out to a number of teams on one of the topics I’m sharing on my website and IG page which was exciting! It was a great opportunity for me to stretch myself a little and put my nerves aside in order to have my colleagues read my thoughts. I definitely had to bat imposter syndrome away with that one!
I started being more diligent with my sleep hygiene and it paid off in March. I felt much more rested when I woke up the next day than I had been in a while.
I was less consistent with my content creation though and I noticed this is my social media stats. Effort definitely equals results when you are creating something new!
April 2023 overview
The article which I mentioned above was written and sent out in April and I got some great comments about how helpful it was which gave me a confidence boost that my work IS helping others. I entitled it “How to stop procrastinating + start taking action” and wrote it directly for the teams I work with in the operations side of the corporation.
I continued to write my weekly newsletter and sent it out to my community every Friday - I am very proud of the consistency I’ve committed to here because I’ve really prioritised it and it’s not always been the easiest thing to do when you also work full time and have to manage all the other usual things every week that we do, so had to give myself a little pat on the back.
My exercise habits continue to be good although I’d really like to be more consistent with strength training because as much as I love my walks, I feel like this is missing.
I created my first FREE guide for you all and finally sent it out! If you haven’t already received it, you can download it here: 101 productivity + organising ideas
I put in more of an effort on the business side to think deeper about the frustrations and problems my community face on a daily basis and that gave me some content topics to work with. I also had some friends ask me to help re-organise their schedules because they now know I can help them streamline things so that was good because it was done in a more formal sense than me just giving tips like I’d usually do!
We also got the bottom pool garden landscaping done!
What worked well for me
👉🏻 These are the things that I found worked really well for me during March and April:
Being much more kind to myself. It’s something I’ve been working hard on and I’ve noticed a direct result of the efforts I’m putting in here. They say creating a business is the biggest self development journey you’ll go on and I couldn’t agree more!
Leaning into when my energy is highest and building in more rest time than I previously have. Burnout was a big theme for me last year and I’m keen to avoid it this year so I’m acutely aware of the signs and try to nip it in the bud quickly if I sense it creeping in again.
What I learned…
👉🏻 This is what I learned during March + April:
I’m still not as consistent as I want to be around getting up early because it usually depends on the quality of sleep I’ve had. Normally Jake will wake me up sometime over night and depending on when that is, it can affect how I am able to show up the next day.
I thought I was a recovered perfectionist but I’ve been listening to a fabulous podcast called The Perfectionism Project by Sam Laura Brown and I feel so called out. She is a fellow Brisbane mum who has built an incredible business from the ground up. Much work to still do in this arena!
Sometimes the biggest hurdle is just DOING THE DAMN TASK you set yourself and all the effort you spend procrastinating could be saved if you just get it over and done with.
I found I was less enthusiastic in March to create any content but pulled myself together and turned it around towards the end of the month and particularly did more so in April. I felt much better about myself doing this because it’s a key focus for me now and takes a huge amount of effort while doing all the usual work + life things (not to mention #mumlife!).
Although I just said above about putting in less effort in March, the upside was that I had more time to spend diffuse thinking and as a result, my vision for this website and how I want to help women has gotten crystal clear, so this just shows that periods of “rest” or not feeling aligned in action-mode can be really important launchpads for the next stepping stone in our growth.
Favourite accomplishment for the month ⭐️
I continue to be really proud of my personal growth and how much courage I’ve had as well as how much more supportive my self-talk has been than in the past.
What habits are currently supporting me?
My weekly planning sessions - I don’t think I’ll ever give these up because I’ve become so much more self-aware around my habits, actions and routines now as a direct result of checking in with myself each week. It helps me plan effectively for the week ahead which is something that took me years to do well and I’m much more diligent about taking the right actions towards my goals rather than be distracted by things that aren’t really a priority for me at the moment.
Exercising regularly - I’m really noticing how much my energy drops when I don’t exercise so I make it non-negotiable most days now.
Tracking my energetic cycles each month - I’ve been doing this since late last year and can see what days of the month are generally going to be more productive and when I need to prioritise rest. More on that in another blog post!
Focusing on three key habits each night to stay on top of having a clean and tidy house. For me, that’s having clean floors, putting our clothes away after they’ve been washed and tidying up the kitchen every night. If nothing else gets done, this makes me feel like the basics are still sorted and waking up to a clean house in the morning is the best.
What can I drop?
The expectation that I have to get up early.
I’m still in two minds as to whether I work better in the morning or at night but this in-between vibe is making it difficult for me to have a consistent sleep routine 😴 which I’m feeling in a big way at the moment!
Focus for May —>
👉🏻 I’d like to look at more ways to fit content creation into my busy week as this is often the first thing to slip for me, but it’s vital to grow a brand. I also want to spend some time going away on weekends again with the kids as I’ve realised it’s nearly halfway through the year and we’ve only done a few trips away this year which was one of our core goals for 2023!
👉🏻 I also want to map out some of the ideas I have for this website and what I need to do to bring them into reality.
Projects + goals
Finish painting the back patio.
Landscape the back garden (or at least get the drainage done and the weeds cleaned out as it’s a big job!).
Build my next FREEBIE - I’m hoping to create a Notion template for you guys since I love it so much as an organising tool and think you will too!
Work on getting strength training back into my weekly schedule.
Add in a weekly body balance or yoga class.
Plan out one of my new mentoring projects at work which I agreed to do as a stretch goal for FY23/24 after my recent performance review.
What do I need to do to make this happen?
Be diligent with my weekly planning (at home) and my daily planning (at work).
Schedule in a yoga or balance class for the end of the week.
Schedule in my strength training sessions and don’t skip them!
Dedicate some time at work to nut out the details of the work project I’ve committed to.
So there you have it, that’s the last two months over and done with!
I highly encourage you to make time to do your own monthly review (even if it’s just in a notebook). By doing one, whether it’s personal, business, or both, is really eye-opening and such a great way to track your personal progress throughout the year!
See you in the next post!
Valli x
If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out the rest of my blog for more helpful topics 😊.
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