Today marks the end of a month – and not just any month, the end of January, that month of the year when resolutions are made, goals envisioned, words of the year though of, and we visualize improved versions of ourselves down the road. This seems like one of those important milestones 🙂

So here are a list of 13 things that came to mind as I reached this point in time, and maybe these are things most of us think of when we reach a end of something, or a significant milestone.

1. I made a plan to….this year. And this last month, being conscious of this plan has definitely impacted everything (well, most things, definitely) I have done so far this year. So, in turn, I have been kinder, spent more time cherishing family and friends, and working towards a better me.
2. Now I need to take it all a step further – make specific tasks that will help towards my plan for each of the three items on my list. Some thoughts I have on this:
   1. Kindness – Make one day a week a RAK (Random Act of Kindness) day going forward
   2. Cherish Family and Friends – Write at least one letter a month/week(?)
   3. Better Me – Hmmm.. I am still working on this one.
3. I actually am writing the post for day 31 on day 31. Granted it is the end of the day for me, and the ‘tomorrow’ for many others. But I DID IT!! Feeling of accomplishment – check!
4. But as I noted, I am writing this post at the very end of the day. Like I have done in the past and played catch up as well often during this past month. Feeling I should have planned better – check!
5. Though I do feel good about being determined to catch up and reach the finish line. Determination – check!
6. I know I need to work on my posts such that I have a few posts ready to schedule at anytime. For those of you who have heard this from me before, I have said this too many times on my blog and am past feeling ashamed about repeating myself now :-). But that said, action plan for this – have at least three posts ready at all times (for now, this is my goal for the next month).
7. Recognize what worked best for me and use that.
   1. Figure out the type of posts that appeal most to my readers and focus on them.
   2. Well, I had another thought but lost it…
8. On the flip side, also recognize what does not really work (type of posts/the time of day I write my posts etc). Change it or don’t spend any more time on that (?). While I might try something that has not worked in the past sometime again in the future, I should put it aside for now.
9. Learn to work smarter. I know this principle and have used it in the past effectively, but somewhere along the passage of time, I have let myself be distracted (literally) so now consciously move forward with this mind.
10. Ideas – In the course of this month, as I interacted with other bloggers on their blogs and my own, as well as on social media, inspiration struck many a time. Sometimes, I made a note, and at others, I failed to.
    1. For those ideas I made notes of, play with them and see if I can turn them into posts
    2. Going forward, when inspiration strikes, welcome it, and make a note.
11. My plan was to finish reading and reviewing a couple more books at this point in time. Remember I mentioned distractions – other books are mainly to blame! But those reviews are coming by the end of this week. Action item – distractions to be minimized (strictly)
12. Keeping in mind 2.2 above, I am so glad to have made (and kept) so many friends through my blog – via challenges, Facebook groups, weekly link-ups, and more. Thank you to all of you!
13. And who better to check with than you, my blogger friends. While I mainly focus on books, I do have plans to write posts on a couple more subjects this coming month. So I would love to hear your feedback on those when they do make an appearance here. Looking forward to all feedback – both the good and the bad.

So, there it is. And what about you? How are you doing at the end of the first month of this year? Do let me know…

You can check out my previous posts for the month and for Ultimate Blog Challenge below. Caught up now (at last!) – this is my day 30 post for UBC. Linking this to Thursday 13

Day 30 Day 29Day 28Day 27Day 26Day 25Day 24 Day 23Day 22Day 21Day 20Day 19Day 18Day 17Day 16Day 15Day 14Day 8Day 1Day 2Day 3Day 4Day 5Day 6Day 7Day 9
Day 10Day 11Day 12 Day 13