I am back! The last three weeks have been incredible. I haven’t done any blogging or social media as I was on vacation. 

As a family, we decided to take a road trip to see my family in Wisconsin. We took three days to drive there with stops along the way to Devil’s Tower and Mount Rushmore and a few things in between. We spent two and a half weeks with my family filling in the time together as much as we could. 

We went to Noah’s Ark Waterpark, Timber Rattler’s baseball game, high school reunion, fishing with granny and gramps, 3 nights of backyard camping with my parents and sisters and their families, swimming at the beach, fireworks for the 4th of July, boat rides and tubing, girls’ day getting our nails done, campfires, tractor pull, and so much more! 

Richard and I were even able to sneak away for a two-night stay in the Wisconsin Dells alone. And let me tell you… that was just what we needed. So much so that we decided we are doing that twice a year as a treat for ourselves.

Now that vacation time is over, I am ready to jump back in and get everything going again. This week is all about getting back into the habit of blogging and working on my business. I saw so much growth with my Rebuild Your Blog Challenge, that I am going to start doing it again on July 10. If you want to read how my first go-around went with the challenge, check out my other blog post here.

Today, we are going to talk about my goals for the month of July. We are almost halfway through the month but that isn’t going to stop me from reaching my goals. If you want to read about my goals for the month of June, grab the link here. 

REVIEW OF MY JUNE GOALS

Before we dive into a few tips for goal setting, I want to take a moment to review some of the goals that I set for myself in June. 

Goal 1: Double my blogging numbers from where they are now

My blogging numbers more than doubled and I am so excited about the progress that my blog has made in the month of June. I worked really hard to make sure that I started to showcase my expertise, blog posts, and more on my social media. I also started showing up in Facebook groups to help build back my blog.

Goal 2: Increase my Pinterest content plan

Honestly, this goal didn’t happen like I was hoping that it would. I have increased my following but I didn’t increase the amount of pins that I was sharing. 

Goal 3: Continue with 2 blog posts per week

I did this all for the month of June and it was wonderful. I was getting super consistent with posting new content and it was helping my numbers to grow. 

Now my business goals didn’t go as well as my blogging goals but this is a reminder as to what they were…

• Goal 1: Get 3-5 women in my Goal Accountability Membership
• Goal 2: Get 3-5 women signed up for Splash Into Blogging Incubator
• Goal 3: Increase my email list

Now a review of my personal goals that I set for the month of June.

Goal 1: Walk every day 

I didn’t do as well with this one as I had hoped but I did get some walking in. It wasn’t every day though.

Goal 2: Enjoy and soak in every moment with my family

This I did! I didn’t get as many photos as I would have liked but I cherished every moment with friends and family over our vacation time. Memories were made and my heart is full!

Goal 3: Continue with morning pages

I took my journal with me on vacation but I didn’t journal. I enjoyed waking up a little later and eating breakfast with my parents and family. 

That was a review of the goals that I set for myself in June. Now let’s talk about creating clarity when creating your own goals.

CREATING CLARITY WHEN SETTING MONTHLY GOALS

I love goal setting and I am trying to share my goals monthly here so that I have accountability in my daily actions.  How do you create clarity when setting your monthly goals? Here are some tips to help with that.

Set specific and measurable goals

When you are setting your goals, make sure that they are specific and measurable. When your goals are vague, it makes it difficult to track progress or to even determine if you are successful. You are going to want to break down your goals into actionable steps and set clear criteria for measuring your achievements as you go.

Reflect on your values and passions

Sometimes we can get lost in our every day that we can forget what we are passionate about. We tend to put our passions on the backburner so that our life can continue to move forward and suddenly we lose track of time. 

When setting your goals for this month and for all the months following, I want you to take the time to reflect on your values and passions. Learn and understand what truly matters to you and what brings you joy and fulfillment. Align your goals with your core values to help you create a sense of purpose and meaning in your pursuit of success.

Break down your goals into actionable steps

There are goals that can feel incredibly overwhelming. Sometimes it isn’t even about it being a large goal. Sometimes you may just not know how to get there until you start thinking about the smaller steps that you need to take. 

Your monthly goals are a great way to turn your large yearly goals into actionable steps. Use these monthly goals to build on your bigger goals.

TIPS TO OVERCOME CHALLENGES WHEN IT COMES TO CLARITY IN GOAL SETTING

Now that you know how to create clarity, here are some tips to help you overcome the challenges that may arise.

• Acknowledge and confront feelings of fear and self-doubt. Do not let these emotions take the lead. You can’t change if you do not confront the feelings that come up.

• Embrace the unknown and challenge yourself to be open to new possibilities. We never know how our life is going to turn out so learn to live in the moment and embrace everything that comes your way.

• Manage the distractions that are going to come up. Life is full of distractions but we need to learn how to manage them. Create strategies that are going to help you move past the distractions that come up. 

• Have someone keep you accountable. Reaching your goals can and will be difficult but if you can find someone to be in your corner, they will feel a little easier to reach.

Now is the time to share my goals for the month of July. I am going to share my personal, business, and blogging goals. I typically share two to three goals per category. 

MY JULY MONTHLY GOALS FOR BUSINESS, BLOGGING, AND PERSONAL GOALS

Business goals:

I didn’t focus much on my business for the month of June. I was focused on building my blog and spending time with my family. 

Goal 1: Sell 20 copies of my poetry book

My mom now has her very own copy of my book and that means that it is time for me to sell them. I am so excited that Meraki Pages is available. My mom loved it and whispered in my ear as we were saying our goodbyes, “Keep writing Sammy.” So if you would like your very own copy of my poetry book, get it here! I can send you a signed copy!

Goal 2: Get clear on where I want my business to go

I have an idea of where I want my business to go but I am not really sure how to make it happen. Things have been changing and evolving and I feel a change coming but it is something that I need to become crystal clear on before I announce it.

Blogging goals:

Goal 1: Get 10x my current traffic to my blog

I am so ready for this! Now is the time to dig even deeper than I did in the month of June and continue to build the traffic that is coming to my blog. Strategies that I am going to use to help me build my traffic…

• Show up in FB groups
• Send out guest blog posts
• Show up on podcasts
• Increase my Pinterest footprint
• Stay consistent in my blogging efforts

Goal 2: Get 1 or 2 bloggers to do a guest blog post on my website

It is time to start doing this again. I haven’t done it for so long but I do know a few people that I would love to have write on my blog so I am going to reach out to them for the month of July and see what they can create.

Personal goals:

My personal goals is going to be my biggest focus this month. There are lots of things I want to accomplish personally and I feel like I have the momentum going forward.

Goal 1: Swim three to five times per week

I am ready to get back in shape and I loved when I made time to go swimming. I am going to get back in the pool and make this my workout routine.

Goal 2: Get back into my morning routine

When I was on vacation, I fell off the wheel of doing my morning routine which consisted of…

• Reading for 15 minutes
• Morning pages for 20 minutes
• Doing a guided meditation

My morning routine really helped to get me focused for the day and now that the kids are off of school for the summer and we are back from vacation, this gives me time to rebuild this habit. 

Goal 3: Focus on healthy eating

During vacation, it felt like we ate out way more than usual and since I really want to focus on health and wellness over the next few months, this seems like a great place to start. I want to focus on eating breakfast and bringing lunch to work. I have changed from our usual white bread to whole wheat bread and I have healthy snacks including fruits and veggies in the fridge ready to be devoured. (Currently munching on cherry tomatoes!!)

This goal is also going to include no eating out. I am going to start slow and focus on no eating out for a week at a time. This feels a little less overwhelming. Plus I may make it a challenge with my husband to take it up a notch!

Goal 4: Focus on creating a budget

There are things that I want to start saving for and so that means that it is time to create a budget that is going to work for me. I want to still be able to have fun as a family while putting money aside for the things that I want to save for. 

That is all for my monthly goals for the month of July. What goals are you working towards? I would love to hear them in the comments below!