This *ONE* Habit Can Transform Your Entire Month 📅
A Step-by-Step Tutorial for Conducting a Monthly Review Day
If you aren’t an architecture buff you might not know what the term “keystone” means. But to put it simply: it’s the central stone in the summit of an arch on which all the pressure of the arch settles. If the keystone is removed, the arch crumbles.
A Keystone Habit has a similar meaning — it’s a habit that helps hold multiple other habits in place. Without the Keystone Habit — the structure crumbles.
There’s one specific Keystone Habit that I’ve had for years that has had a huge impact on my business, health, finances, relationships! Practically any aspect of my life that is worth mentioning is supported, at least in part, by this recurring Keystone Habit.
It’s called a Monthly Review Day, and this post is going to explain what it is and how to start doing one for yourself.
🙋🏻♀️ What It Is
A Monthly Review Day is a designated time to get organized, plan, set goals and prepare for the month ahead. Think of it as a recurring meeting you have with yourself once a month.
The Monthly Review Day becomes the Keystone Habit that helps set you up for success in other areas. If you’re the type of person who starts each month with the best of intentions, but ends up overwhelmed, disorganized, or making little progress — a Monthly Review Day might be the missing piece.
What areas you cover during your review will vary depending on what your life looks like. Yours might be more life focused, more work focused, or a balance of several domains. Below are some common areas people assess during a Monthly Review Day:
🥗 Meal planning and creating a grocery list.
💵 Checking in on finances and doing budget updates.
📅 Reviewing your schedule to ensure your time aligns with your priorities.
📝Consolidating research + information into digital systems for safe keeping.
✅ Updating information for ongoing tasks and projects.
🗃 Organizing and decluttering digital files.
🏋🏻♀️ Schedule your fitness or workout plans for the month.
🤝🏻 Setting aside time to prioritize important relationships and networking.
🥇 Updating progress toward goals or habit formation.
📧 Decluttering email inboxes, texts, and other communication.
👨👨👦 Aligning family schedules and childcare logistics.
👩🏻⚕️ Booking important appointments or refilling medications.
🧼 Tidying your desk + workspace.
I recommend identifying between 2-6 areas to focus on when you first start. As you get more confident and efficient you can add additional areas.
👊🏻 How To Do It
Plan to set aside at least 30-60 minutes for your Monthly Review Day. Time required will likely vary depending on circumstances and you might need more time in the beginning, while you get familiar with the routine.
I like to set the mood with a great playlist, something good to drink, maybe lighting a candle! You might enjoy doing yours in a favorite coffee shop or other space that feels inspiring.
I recommend doing it at the same time each month to create consistency. Connecting it to another habit or routine that you do monthly, such as paying bills or sending invoices, might also help you establish it.
I do mine on the first Monday of each month. I have it set up as a recurring monthly event on my Google Calendar, and do them online with a group of people for accountability (see details below!).
⏰ Make it a Priority
Most people *know* that a routine like this will significantly improve their month, but many still struggle to prioritize it!
Here are a few things that can help:
Justify the use of this time by recognizing how much time it saves you throughout the month!
Pay attention to how much more motivated and focused you feel.
Appreciate the stress that is relieved when you address things that might otherwise keep you up at night or distract you.
If something positive happens during the month that you attribute to your Monthly Review Day, make note so you have a concrete reminder of why this is a worthwhile priority.
💻 Join me, LIVE!
Join me every month for a live Monthly Review Day event on the first Monday from 9-10:30 CST. You can see upcoming events via the button below:
Here’s what these 90-minute sessions look like:
📣 15 MINUTES (9:00 -9:15 AM CST): Announcements, free resources, habit check-in, and goal setting.
👩🏻💻 45 MINUTES (9:15-10:00 AM CST): Silent co-working. Use this time to continue with your Monthly Review Day or work independently on other tasks.
✅ 5 MINUTES (10:00 - 10:05): Checking in and updating our progress during the session.
🙋🏻♀️ REMAINDER (10:15-10:30 AM CST): Live Q+A with Dani — get all your questions answered.
👌🏻 Additional Pro Tips
Here are two tips to make your Monthly Review Day low-stress and efficient. Focus on establishing the habit first, then come back to these tips if they’re helpful:
Create an SOP Document: An SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) document in Google Docs can outline step-by-step processes for tasks like pulling financial reports. This saves time and reduces friction. My full tutorial is here:
Set Up Bookmark Folders: For tasks like monthly meal planning, creating a Bookmark Folder can be really helpful. This boosts efficiency instantly. My full tutorial is here:
Love the shape of these monthly review meetings - such a great idea. Your resources are also spot-on, as ever.
Your monthly review days have been really helpful in the past when I have been able to attend! Is there any chance you might record these mini lessons and/or q&a so those of us that can't attend can check them out at another time?