HabitsTime

Monthly reset

A monthly reset is one longer session at the start of each month for the jobs a weekly reset skips: one deep-clean task, a look back at this month and ahead at the next, and admin like renewals and appointments. The checklist below starts with 9 steps in three parts, 150 minutes in all; change any of them and print it.

Free · No account · What you type stays on this device

Name your routine
Your steps

Change, add or remove anything. Each step sits in a section; the card adds up each one.

Total: 150 min

Home: 75 min · Plans: 40 min · Admin: 35 min

A monthly reset checklist

The checklist's starting point, with the minutes for each part. Split it over a weekend if 150 minutes is too much in one go.

My monthly reset

Home75 min

  1. Do one deep-clean task45 min
  2. Clear out one drawer or shelf20 min
  3. List small repairs around the home10 min

Plans40 min

  1. Look back over this month's calendar10 min
  2. Put next month's dates in the calendar15 min
  3. Pick next month's goals and habits15 min

Admin35 min

  1. Check renewals and expiry dates10 min
  2. Book the appointments due this month10 min
  3. Back up phone photos and files15 min

Total150 min

Why at the start of the month

A new month is a fresh start date

In three studies of real-world records (Google searches for "diet", gym visits and goal commitments), people pursued their goals more readily after "fresh start" dates, such as the start of a new week, month or year.

Same time each month

Habits form as people repeat the same response in the same context. A reset tied to the first weekend of the month keeps that repeat; “Start tracking” adds it to the tracker with that cue.

Monthly reset ideas

Home

  • Do one deep-clean task
  • Clear out one drawer or shelf
  • List small repairs around the home
  • Wash the cushion covers or curtains
  • Bag up things to give away

Plans

  • Look back over this month's calendar
  • Put next month's dates in the calendar
  • Pick next month's goals and habits
  • Note one thing that went well this month

Admin

  • Check renewals and expiry dates
  • Book the appointments due this month
  • Back up phone photos and files
  • Update passwords you have been meaning to change

What this reset leaves out

No money, budget or spending step: this site doesn't cover money. For the weekly version, use the Sunday reset; to turn next month's habit into a plan, make a habit plan.

What happens to what you type

Your routine stays in this browser and is never sent anywhere; it lives on the card you print or save. “Start tracking” adds it as one habit to the habit tracker on this device only, with “the first weekend of the month” as its cue. To add one new habit after a step you already do, stack it.

If you need help now

These tools are for everyday habits. They are not a crisis service. If you are struggling or don't feel safe, you can contact:

  • 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

    988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (US): call or text 988, or chat online. Free and confidential, 24/7.

  • Emergency services (911)

    US: call 911 if you or someone you know is in immediate harm or danger.

  • Samaritans

    Samaritans (UK and Ireland): call 116 123, free, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

  • Emergency services (999 or A&E) · NHS 111, mental health option

    Call 999 or go to A&E if someone's life is at risk or you can't keep yourself or someone else safe. For urgent help that isn't an emergency, call 111 and select the mental health option (NHS).

Elsewhere, call your local emergency number.

Sources

  1. Wood W, Rünger D (2016). Psychology of Habit. Annual Review of Psychology 67:289–314. PMID 26361052
  2. Dai H, Milkman KL, Riis J (2014). The Fresh Start Effect: Temporal Landmarks Motivate Aspirational Behavior. Management Science 60(10):2563–2582. doi:10.1287/mnsc.2014.1901
  3. 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. 988lifeline.org
  4. Contact Us. 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. 988lifeline.org
  5. Contact a Samaritan. Samaritans. samaritans.org
  6. Where to get urgent help for mental health. NHS. nhs.uk