A Monthly Meeting with Myself
Every start of the month, I walk to a neighborhood cafe, order my favorite beverage of choice (usually a flat white with oat or a filter), prop open my notebooks, and start to write about the month before, and what I hope the coming month brings.
Today, I want to share with you why I deliberately carve out time for this practice, why it matters to me, and how it’s been beneficial for my overall well-being.
How it started
I began this monthly meeting practice when the holidays drowned me in a whirlwind of things to do (unsurprisingly). It was also nearing the end of the year, and yet I had no clue about what I have been doing, and I was mostly finishing one deadline after another without much time to reflect or analyze after a project has concluded.
There are quarterly check-ins and of course, yearly reviews. Unfortunately, those don’t work for me. Every month, I am tackling a different area of my life or working on a project specific to that time period, so it’s important for me to reflect on those endeavours before I move on to the next month, so I can “close” that chapter and move forward.
I decided to use my trusty Leuchtturm1917 notebook, which is part of my planner and journal lineup this year. The A5 size and dotted format felt familiar, and always works for me.
What I write
I have a much more in-depth list of everything I write inside my monthly meeting (link below), but it’s a mix of work and life stuff. It takes me roughly two hours to fill up three to four pages, depending on what I write and if I need more pages to reflect on certain things.
In total, it has four sections:
Check-in
Last month’s review
New month overview
Top 3 focuses
I would say this is a mix of an audit and a reflection. I’m not big on measuring my creative work with tactile metrics (such as money, and that’s usually another thing I do separately when I do my bookkeeping) so this is purely monitoring how I feel, and how I spent my work days. My favorite part is spotting similar goals (from the current to the new month) and checking some bits off, while carrying over some of them (and no shame, it’s totally okay to do so).
This is something I created tailor-fitted to my exact job and lifestyle, so I totally understand if it doesn’t fully resonate. Feel free to take what you find useful and apply it to your own practice!
You can access the Monthly Meeting template as a member of my Creative Growth Club, or as a one-off purchase.
How it’s going
Apart from the monthly debriefs, I noticed I get a little antsy towards the second or third week of the month. When this happens, I would take out my notebook and write an Observations page. I like to think in lists, and this would either contain writing about my behavior, how a project is going, or even something stemmed from a conversation that I want to revisit.
In these fast-paced and overstimulating times, giving my ideas space allows me to better understand why they matter in any given moment, and how they might make sense moving forward.
One thing I always take note of at the start of the new month is the variety of work I did previously. Was I feeling explorative? Was there a shift in how I worked on a project? Did I try a new format or find a (new) printing supplier? These may be small things, and yet they add up.
Every time I feel lost or unsure, these pages serve as my compass. I would go back to them every few weeks to check-in and this works hand in hand with my work planner that I plan on every start of the week.
What I’ve learned (so far)
This monthly practice has provided me a lot of clarity in what I prioritize, how I spend my time, and of course, where most of my time and energy goes. It’s no surprise that a big chunk of my life revolves around work. As a person working in the creative industry, it’s important to me to find a balance in what I create and consume, and how I make sense of the world through both.
I’ve also noticed a dip in my mood3 around end of the month, and I feel significantly better after doing my monthly meeting. I consider it as an invitation for me to take care of myself and be more patient during this time.
The same things come up during this weird funk of a week—things ending, new things beginning. Possibilities. Hopes for the future. Dreams. Desires. I no longer have a regular tarot practice but from time to time, I would dabble on it and pull some cards to gain some insights on how I can move forward.
I’m well aware that setting intentions and plans for the entire month is a bit daunting, but it keeps me accountable (to myself). I like to set boundaries so that I know my focus, and that I can really spend time on things that matter and move the rest for a future time.
And really, that's the whole point: not perfection, just space to reflect, adjust, and keep going.