The

Monthly Method
Weekly Planning
Set & Achieve Your Goals in a New Way
 Day 0:
Choose your goals for the week

This step should be done before the start of the week. You will select 3 goals in
total. 1 goal in each of the areas:

1 Career & Growth

This goal is future-oriented. It allows you to grow and create new things in the
future.

2 Health & Key Relationships

This goal guarantees that your fundamentals are taken care of. You can’t
perform at your best without your health and key relationships.

3 Quality of Life
Your life should be enjoyable now. Not one day when.

You need to choose only ONE goal in all three areas to focus on for the next
week. You can’t select all 3 goals in just one area. There are many reasons for
that. Trust the process! You should be able complete each goal in under 3
hours. If you think it will take longer, break down the goal into smaller pieces
and focus on the first piece for next week. Focus on the practice, not the
outcome. Focus on things you can control.

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 Definition of Done

Definition of done (DOD) is a concept used in SCRUM product development

framework. It answers the question “How do we know when it’s done?”

If you and I were to sit down by the end of the week, how would we know that
your goal is achieved? How would a person who doesn’t live with you know
whether you have achieved this goal or not? What are some of the metrics you
can track?

Examples of Weekly Goals:

Career & Growth

Update my resume
DOD: The resume has a new portion where I list my current job
responsibilities. Other parts are updated to match the job ads I am applying
for.

Write and publish two blog posts

DOD: Two new blog posts are published on the blog. They are 1,000-1,500
words in length, and have at least 2 pictures each. The titles and meta
descriptions are optimized for SEO.

Schedule a meeting with the manager to talk about my future in the

company.
DOD: I have a meeting with my manager in my work calendar.

Create a homepage for my new website

DOD: A homepage is live on my new website.

Sign up for a copywriting class

DOD: The first class is booked in my calendar.

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Health & Key Relationships

Run 15 km in total this week (3 runs, 5 km each)

DOD: I have 15 km in total recorded for this week in my Strava account.

3 x 30-min HIIT workouts

DOD: 3 x 30-min workout sessions recorded using my Apple watch.

Organize a surprise date night

DOD: Dinner, one fun activity, and a movie have been selected.

Plan and go on a hike with my significant other

DOD: A picture from a beautiful hike.

Call my mom
DOD: A call record is in my WhatsUp calls history.

Quality of Life:

Organize a get-together with my girlfriends.

DOD: I have a shared appointment in my calendar (date, time,
and place).

Schedule a massage
DOD: I have a confirmed appointment in my calendar.

Go on walk during my lunch break

DOD: I have at least 3 pictures from my walks by the end of the
week.

Take a bath to unwind in the evening

DOD: I took a bath at least 3 times this week.

Read at night
DOD: Screens were off at 9 pm (Monday - Thursday)

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 Day 0:
Schedule Celebration Time

When you select your goals for the week, schedule the celebration time. Put
something on your calendar that you would do to celebrate your
achievements.

Why is scheduling celebration

time important?

It gives a clear deadline. If you schedule your celebration time at 2 pm on

Saturday, it means you have to get your goals completed by that time.

It allows you to feel good about yourself. We are so future-focused. We

rarely stop and appreciate all the hard work we’ve done. We never pat
ourselves on the back. The Monthly Method is based on cultivating the
“feel good” emotions. You can get so much more done when you feel
good. Plus, it makes a heck of a lot more pleasurable life.

It reinforces new beliefs about yourself. The most powerful words you
will say are the ones that come after “I am…”. When you schedule the
time to celebrate your achievements every week, you learn to believe
new things about yourself. You start thinking “I am the person who
shows up for him-/herself”, “I can do hard things”, “I can follow a
schedule I created for myself”, “I take consistent steps towards your
dreams”.

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Celebration time in your calendar gives you something to look forward
to when the going gets tough. I remember reading an academic study
that says that we actually receive the most happiness from anticipating
our vacations than from actually going on them. It is important to be
looking forward to something, it gives you the happiness hormones.

Guilt-free pleasure. When was the last time you did something you
enjoyed 100% guilt-free? Without all the “I should be doing X instead”
chatter in your head. This is the worst kind. You are not doing X AND you
are not enjoying your favourite activity. Lose-lose. Let’s change that!

Examples of celebration time:

Go to your favourite cafe and Have a no-schedule day - do

spend an hour reading your whatever you want all day long,
favourite book or magazine. guilt-free.

Go for a walk in your favourite Watch the new episodes of your

park even if it’s across town. favourite show.

Get a massage. Working on a hobby project.

Get manicure or pedicure done. Spend time with friends.

Buy a new lipstick. Not for me, but also watching

sports if it’s something you
Spend an hour in your favourite enjoy.
bookstore.
Play your favourite video game.
Play golf.
Attend a concert.
Go out for dinner.
Going to a comedy club.
Play guitar.
Purchase a new piece of
clothing.

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 Day 1-5:
The Daily Practice

10X Coffee Practice

Taken in the morning Monday - Friday.

It is called 10X Coffee Practice because it can be done in the time it takes
you to drink your morning coffee. Plus, it increases the effect of your
coffee on energy and motivation by at least 10 times.

You will find the printable for this journaling prompt on Page 19.

Goal# 1
I’m committed to _______________________this week no matter what.

Goal# 2
I’m committed to _______________________this week no matter what.

Goal# 3
I’m committed to _______________________this week no matter what.

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 What are the 3 things I can do today to make these goals a reality?

ACTIONS
2

How should I feel to make acting on these goals easier?

EMOTIONS
2

What thoughts should I be thinking in order to feel these emotions?

THOUGHTS
2

Your job is to keep practicing these thoughts throughout the day.

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10X Coffee Practice - Example:

Goals
1 I’m committed to publishing 2 new blog posts this week no matter what.

2 I’m committed to fasting for 100 hours this week no matter what.

I’m committed to organizing a get-together with my college friends this

3
week no matter what.

What are the 3 things I can do today to make these goals a reality? [Actions]

1 Create an outline for the first blog post.

2 Start my fast at 7 pm.

3
Send a message to all my friends asking for the best date we can all
meet.

How should I feel to make acting on these goals easier? [Emotions]

1 Confident

2 Creative

3 Energized

What thoughts should I be thinking in order to feel these emotions?

[Thoughts]

1 I have so many ideas I want to share with the world.

2 I can do incredible things.

3 I love expressing my thoughts through writing.

4 I have so much energy within me to make my dreams a reality.

5 This is easy.

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 Work transition

After you are done with your 10X Coffee Practice, I highly recommend
creating a life-to-work transition routine. It is the actions you take every
single day to tell your brain it’s time to get down to business.

Some examples:

Make your bed.

Get dressed in work cloth (yes, I’m talking about pants and blazers
even if you work from home)
Get your work shoes on.
Go for a walk. This is my favourite. I’ve been working remotely for
the last 4 years. This feels like going to an actual office. You leave
your house, get your coffee and then come back as if you came to
the office. I love listening to inspiring podcasts during these daily
walks. It doesn’t have to take long, 15-20 minutes is enough.
Clean out your desk.
Light a candle.
Put your noise-cancelling headphones on.
Read 10 pages of an inspiring book.
Prepare your favourite hot beverage.

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 Select The Activities
You Will Do Today

If you’ve done your 10X Coffee practice, you already have your 3 main
activities for the day. Check other to-dos you might have. Prioritize them.

Time Block

Don’t start working yet. Most likely, your to-do list is longer than what you
can realistically achieve in a day. It might cause you anxiety, overwhelm,
frustration and inability to focus. The solution is to time block. I recommend
using paper for this.

Break down your day in 30-minute increments (or print out the
templates provided on pages 19)
Put down all the meetings you already have on your digital
calendar (work meetings)
Put down your eating windows (breakfast, lunch, dinner + cooking
time)
Hard stop to your working day
Schedule email checking (3 x 30-minutes time slots max)
Schedule the first steps you can do today on your goals. Don’t
schedule work-related activities after your work hours.
Schedule other to-dos in order of importance.
Plan for the result! Don’t put “work on the blog post” from 1 to 1.30
pm. Put “create a blog post outline from 1-1.30 pm”. Use Definition of
Done in time blocking. How would you know you are done?
Leave some free time. Not everything has to be scheduled. I
generally don’t schedule my time past 6-7 pm. I try to get
everything I need to get done on all my goals before then. Feel free
to call it “Play Time”.

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Example of a time blocked schedule

9:00 Create an outline for the first blog post

9:30 Fill out & submit supplier application

10:00 meeting 1

10:30 meeting 1

11:00 Enter invoices from last week

11:30 Check email

12:00 Lunch break

12:30
Finish editing the month-end report & email it to Chris
1:00

1:30 Prepare for the important meeting.

2:00
Important Meeting
2:30
Email the meeting summary with the next action steps
3:00 to all stakeholders

3:30
Respond to emails
4:00

4:30 Buffer time

STOP WORKING
5:00 Sending a message to all my friends asking for the best
date we can all meet

5:30
Cook dinner
6:00

6:30 Dinner with family + start my fast

7:00 Clean up the kitchen, load laundry

7:30 Play Time!

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How to stick to your time blocks

You can create a perfect schedule but if you don’t show up for it, it is
useless. I’ve written extensively on this topic here, and here. If you prefer
an audio format, these episodes cover this topic:

Why You Don't Need Another Productivity App

How to Create and Follow Your Schedule

Repeat every day (at least every work day):

1 10X Coffee Practice

2 Work Transition
3 Time Block
4 Have a hard stop to your work day
5 Guilt-free “play time” every evening (at least 2 hours)

Day 6-7:
Celebrate

It’s time to celebrate! Remember the celebration you have scheduled at

the very beginning? It’s time to do this activity! Enjoy! The main rule
here - IT IS A GUILT-FREE ZONE! The more you enjoy this activity, the
more energy it will give you for your future endeavours!

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 Day 7:
Weekly Review

It is called Sprint Retrospective in SCRUM. There are different ways to do

that. I prefer this minimalistic approach:

1 Stop [1 thing]
Review your week and select one thing you should stop doing
to make the next week a little more productive. Remember,
we are looking for incremental changes here. Nothing major
and life-changing.

2 Start [1 thing]
Review your week and select one thing you should start doing
to make the next week a little more productive.

3 Continue [1 thing]
Review your week and select one thing that really helped you.
Select one thing you should continue doing.

Examples:
1 Stop: checking email first thing in the morning
2 Start: putting a big glass of water on my desk in the morning
3 Continue: time blocking my work day

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 Repeat for next week:

1 Choose your goals

2 Schedule celebration time
3 Show up for your goals daily
4 Celebrate!
5 Weekly review

By doing this, you will soon realize that true progress is cyclical. It is not
linear.

If you need any help or clarification, you can email me directly:

polina.bee.pro@gmail.com

I respond to every email I get from my clients. Your success in using this
method is my #1 priority.

If you like the concept and want to increase your chances of succeeding
by 325%, consider joining us for the next monthly sprint.

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PRINTOUTS
 MASTER CHECKLIST

Day 0: Day 1:
3 goals are selected 10X Coffee Practice
Definition of done is clearly specified Work Transition
Celebration time is scheduled 3 top activities selected for the day
Work day is time blocked
Stopped working at a specific time

Day 2: Day 3:
10X Coffee Practice 10X Coffee Practice
Work Transition Work Transition
3 top activities selected for the day 3 top activities selected for the day
Work day is time blocked Work day is time blocked
Stopped working at a specific time Stopped working at a specific time

Day 4: Day 5:
10X Coffee Practice 10X Coffee Practice
Work Transition Work Transition
3 top activities selected for the day 3 top activities selected for the day
Work day is time blocked Work day is time blocked
Stopped working at a specific time Stopped working at a specific time

Day 6: Day 7:
Celebrate Weekly Review
Plan Next Week

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 Choose Your Goals

Career & Growth

Definition of Done:

Health & Key Relationships

Definition of Done:

Quality of Life

Definition of Done:

GOALS CHECKLIST

Goal 1 Goal 2 Goal 3

Practice oriented. Depends solely on you.

Has a clear Definition of Done

Can be completed in under 3 hours?

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 10X COFFEE PRACTICE

Date: M T W T F S S

I’m committed to _____________________________ this week no matter what.

I’m committed to _____________________________ this week no matter what.

I’m committed to _____________________________ this week no matter what.

What are the 3 things I can do today to make these goals a reality? [Actions]

How should I feel to make acting on these goals easier? [Emotions]

What thoughts should I be thinking in order to feel these emotions [Thoughts]

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 Time Blocks
Date: M T W T F S S

7:00

7:30

8:00

8:30

9:00

9:30

10:00

10:30

11:00

11:30

12:00

12:30

1:00

1:30

2:00

2:30

3:00

3:30

4:00

4:30

5:00

5:30

6:00

6:30

7:00

7:30

8:00

8:30

9:00

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 WEEKLY REVIEW

Stop:

Start :

Continue:

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