5 Powerful Things to Do at the End of Every Month

There’s a subtle but powerful shift that happens at the end of the month.

It’s easy to overlook, especially when the days blur into each other. The emails, the meetings, the routines… and before we know it, we’re turning the calendar page again. But over the years—both as a leadership coach and as someone navigating the beautiful complexity of work, life, and growth—I’ve come to treasure this moment.

The end of the month isn’t just about wrapping things up.

It’s a checkpoint. A leadership pause. A chance to check in with yourself—not just on what you’ve done, but on who you’re becoming.

These five practices have become part of my monthly rhythm. They’re not complicated. They don’t take hours. But they keep me grounded, focused, and aligned with the kind of leader, mother, partner, and person I want to be.

1.  Celebrate Progress—Not Just Productivity

This is where I always start. Month after month. And I’ll be honest—it didn’t come naturally. Not at first.

I’m wired for action. I love setting goals, creating plans, checking off lists. For years, I measured a “successful” month by how much I got done—how productive I was. The more boxes I checked, the better I felt. If I wasn’t producing, I felt like I was falling behind. I’ve even caught myself feeling anxious on a Sunday night because my to-do list didn’t have enough crossed off.

But over time—through coaching others, parenting, leading through seasons of uncertainty, and yes, falling into burnout and learning to come out the other side—I’ve realized something that’s shifted how I live and lead:

Productivity is not the same as progress.

Some months, progress looks visible. It’s hitting your quarterly targets. Completing a big project. Booking that dream vacation for your family.

But other months, progress is invisible. It’s not snapping during a hard moment with your child. It’s speaking up when you normally stay silent. It’s resting without guilt. Or choosing to end something that no longer serves you.

I remember one particular month that felt chaotic—travel, deadlines, back-to-back meetings, and personal goals that had to take a back seat. I sat down at the end of that month and immediately felt like I had “fallen short.” But then I took a breath and did something different—I zoomed out. I looked at what had actually happened. I had stayed grounded through the chaos. I had shown up for my family and team with presence. I had navigated a tough conversation with more clarity and less reactivity. That month didn’t look productive on paper. But it was deeply full of progress.

And this is why, every month, I now make time for what I call my End-of-Month Ritual—a simple but powerful pause to reflect, reset, and recenter. It’s a practice that’s become a cornerstone of how I lead myself and others.

Because when we don’t stop to see our progress, we risk walking into a new month still carrying the weight of “not enough.”

Here’s how it works:

At the end of every month, I ask myself:

• What am I proud of—personally and professionally?

• Where did I stretch or surprise myself?

• What did I show up for, even when it was hard or uncomfortable?

• Where did I honor my values, even if no one else saw it?

Sometimes I write these reflections in my journal. Sometimes I just voice-note them on a walk. Occasionally, I’ll share them with a trusted friend or coach.

Try this:

Write down 5 wins from the month:

1. One personal

2. One professional

3. One relational

4. One emotional

5. One that almost went unnoticed

You’ll be amazed by what you discover. That moment you spoke kindly to yourself instead of spiraling? That time you asked for help when you’d usually just power through? The boundaries you set? All of that counts.

Progress isn’t always loud. It doesn’t always show up in metrics. But it always matters.

So before you jump into planning your next month—pause. Take inventory. Make celebration a discipline.

Because you are not standing still.

You are growing. You are becoming.

You are leading—yourself and others—in quiet, courageous ways.

And that is worth honoring.

2. Extract the Lessons

This practice has changed the way I lead—not just others, but myself.

For a long time, I ended each month focused on what I didn’t finish. The emails I still needed to send. The workouts I skipped. The habit I couldn’t stick to. I’d mentally beat myself up and promise to “do better next month,” as if willpower alone would make everything fall into place.

But growth doesn’t come from judgment. It comes from curiosity.

Now, before I set any goals for the new month, I take a moment to ask:

What did this month teach me?

It sounds simple, but it’s powerful. Because when you pause to extract the lesson—not just the result—you unlock insight. You begin to see patterns, not just problems. You stop reacting, and start responding.

Some lessons arrive softly. Others are loud.

Last month, I learned that when I overcommit, I disconnect—from myself, my family, even my creativity. The lesson was subtle at first, then unmistakable. I noticed it in the way I rushed through dinner. In the way I skipped my morning rituals. In how flat I felt recording podcast episodes.

That awareness? It’s leadership intelligence. And I’ve learned not to waste it.

So now, I give myself permission to review the month like a leader, not a critic.

I ask:

• What worked well this month?

• What didn’t go as planned—and why?

• Was it a strategy issue? A timing issue? An energy issue?

• What patterns do I see emerging?

And perhaps most importantly: What do I want to do differently next month?

Sometimes the lesson is about boundaries. Sometimes it’s about pacing. Sometimes it’s about how I speak to myself. Each one is valuable.

This isn’t about shame. It’s about strategy.

Think about it like this: great leaders run postmortems after every project. Not to point fingers, but to learn, adapt, and improve. Why wouldn’t we do the same for our lives?

You’re not meant to carry every dropped ball or missed deadline into the next month. You’re meant to learn from it, leave what no longer serves you, and move forward wiser and stronger.

Try this:

Take out a journal or voice note app. Reflect on these prompts:

• This month taught me…

• A mistake I made that I learned from…

• Something that surprised me…

• Something I’ll do differently next time…

Even if it’s just a few lines, this practice rewires your brain for growth. It turns “I didn’t get to that” into “Now I know how to approach it better.”

Pro tip if you’re leading a team: Bring this practice into your one-on-ones or monthly team reviews. Ask team members to reflect not only on what they achieved, but what they learned. It creates a culture of development, not just delivery.

3.  Reconnect With the Bigger Picture

One of the most important leadership skills—especially when leading yourself—is learning to zoom out.

Month to month, it’s easy to get stuck in the weeds: the day-to-day busyness, the endless notifications, the never-finished to-do list. You focus so much on what you’re doing that you forget to ask why. And if you’re not careful, a few busy weeks can turn into a season of drifting—away from your goals, your values, and the version of yourself you’re working toward becoming.

That’s why, at the end of each month, I intentionally make space to pause and reconnect with the bigger picture.

This is my alignment check.

I ask myself:

• Am I still moving toward the life I want?

• Are my goals still aligned with my purpose and values?

• Have I drifted from my vision—and if so, where and why?

These questions aren’t meant to make me feel bad. They’re meant to bring me back—to center, to clarity, to what matters most.

Your life and career should be designed—not defaulted

I learned this lesson the hard way earlier in my career. I was hitting goals, getting promoted, building a great resume… but feeling strangely disconnected. I was checking all the boxes but losing sight of the bigger picture—who I wanted to be, what kind of impact I wanted to have, and the life I was trying to create beyond the job title or accolades.

It’s so easy to confuse motion with meaning.

Now, every month, I take time to revisit the goals I set at the beginning of the year—not just to see what’s “on track,” but to ask:

• Does this still feel right?

• Does it still excite me?

• Is it still serving the person I’m becoming?

And sometimes… the answer is no. And that’s okay. Goals are not commitments for life. They are tools for alignment. And it takes courage to pivot when something no longer fits.

If you’ve drifted from your vision—don’t judge. Reconnect.

Life happens. Priorities shift. Circumstances change. You may find yourself months into a path you no longer want to be on—not because you failed, but because you grew.

Reconnection isn’t about going back. It’s about re-choosing. Recommitting. Or even reimagining what’s next.

Try this:

Take 10 minutes and journal on these questions:

• What does “success” mean to me right now—in this season?

• What kind of person do I want to be a month from now?

• What’s one small action I can take next month to move closer to that vision?

It doesn’t have to be a huge overhaul. Reconnection often starts with a whisper:

“This matters."

“I miss this part of myself.”

“I want more of this in my life.”

Listen to that voice. It’s trying to guide you.

Leading Yourself means staying aligned—even when the path gets messy

This step—reconnecting with your bigger picture—isn’t just about productivity or goal-setting. It’s about purpose. It’s what keeps your leadership grounded and your energy focused. When you know why you’re doing what you’re doing, you move with more clarity, more confidence, and more conviction.

And in a world that’s constantly trying to pull your attention in a thousand directions, staying connected to your why is a superpower.

4. Clear Space—Physically and Mentally

Clutter—whether it’s in your inbox or your mind—creates noise. And over time, that noise drowns out what matters most.

At the end of each month, I’ve learned to treat space as a leadership tool. Space to breathe. To think. To discern. To move forward with clarity. That’s why I carve out time to reset both my environment and my energy—before a new month begins.

For me, this might look like:

• Clearing off my desk and leaving just the essentials. I want to see a clean surface when I start the month, not stacks of old work I haven’t touched in weeks.

• Archiving project notes that are no longer relevant—or better yet, creating a folder labeled “done” and moving things out of sight.

• Reviewing my calendar for recurring commitments and asking: Do these still serve me?

• Releasing the weight of undone tasks and guilt I’ve been carrying—because that mental clutter takes up more bandwidth than we realize.

What I’ve found is this: clarity isn’t about doing more—it’s about making room.

When I declutter my space and let go of mental “open tabs,” I make space for the kind of thinking that fuels better decisions, better conversations, and ultimately, better leadership.

Try this:

Choose one area to “declutter” this week—your calendar, your desktop, your to-do list, even your digital files. Then pause and ask:

What am I ready to release—and what kind of space do I want to create in its place?

You don’t have to overhaul your life. Just one intentional reset can create a ripple effect into the month ahead.

5.  Set One Grounding Intention for the New Month

Let’s be honest—most of us start a new month with a long checklist of goals, habits to build, and things we want to change. But over the years, I’ve learned that starting with one grounding intention can be far more powerful than trying to do it all.

A grounding intention is like your internal compass. It’s not about adding more pressure or productivity; it’s about direction. It anchors you when the calendar gets crowded, when things feel out of sync, or when your energy dips.

In my own journey—balancing motherhood, leadership, health goals, and creative pursuits—this one small practice has made a big difference.

Some of my past intentions have been:

• “Presence over productivity” – a reminder to be fully with my family, even when work felt endless.

• “Speak with courage” – especially during a season when I needed to use my voice more in leadership.

• “Simplify” – when my schedule and my thoughts both felt too chaotic.

• “Protect my peace” – during a time of transition when I was prone to overcommitting.

The beauty of setting a single intention is that it gives you a north star without overwhelming you. You don’t need to have the whole month mapped out—you just need to know how you want to show up.

And it doesn’t have to be profound or poetic. It just has to feel true to where you are right now.

Make it a ritual

I revisit my intention at the end of each week. Sometimes I journal about it. Sometimes I just take a breath and ask: Am I still aligned with this? What needs to shift?

Try this:

Fill in the blank → “This month, I want to lead with ______.”

Let it be a word, a phrase, or even a question you carry with you.

Because clarity doesn’t come from setting more goals—it comes from setting the right focus.

Final Thoughts

The way we end one chapter shapes how we begin the next.

That’s something I’ve come to believe deeply—not just in theory, but in practice. When we rush from one month into the next, we carry the weight, the noise, and often the misalignment with us. But when we pause—intentionally and consistently—we create space. Space for clarity. For direction. For energy to flow in the right places.

These five practices—reflection, celebration, alignment, decluttering, and intention-setting—aren’t just nice-to-haves. They’re tools for sustainable growth and grounded leadership. They help us lead ourselves well, month by month, decision by decision.

And here’s the truth: you don’t need a big life overhaul to reset. You don’t need a vacation, a promotion, or even a perfect Monday. You just need a pause.

So as we turn the page on another month, I invite you to take that pause. Whether it’s ten minutes with your journal, a quiet walk without your phone, or simply lighting a candle and exhaling deeply—honor that transition.

Reflect on what you learned. Celebrate what you lived. Realign with where you’re headed. Clear the clutter—mentally, physically, emotionally. And anchor yourself in a powerful, grounding intention.

Because when you lead yourself with intention, everything else—your energy, your relationships, your goals—follows.

You’ve got this! And if this spoke to you, consider making these practices part of your monthly rhythm. You deserve that space to show up fully for yourself—and for everything that matters most to you.