There are particular things I plan on my monthly spread not on the weekly spread. If you find yourself doubling up writing things on both spreads, I hope this post helps you decide which things you’re going to plan in your monthly spread.
Related post: Daily versus weekly planners: which is right for you?
Why use a monthly spread?
- Helps you see the bigger picture instead of getting bogged down in the details. Then break it down further in list, notes or project planning pages
- When you get a new planner, add in your last time I did, annual and recurring tasks. I would only do this 3 months in advance as you might decide you don’t like the monthly calendar layout and want to switch to another
- The best type of tasks to plan in the monthly calendar instead of weekly spread, are seasonal and one off tasks that may not have a due date, but should be done sometime during that month
Do you need more than 1 monthly calendar?
You might want to use separate calendars for:
- Cleaning
- Kid’s schedules
- Work
- Meal planning
- Fitness
- Projects
- Business
- Life admin
- Vacation planning
Tips for planning with your monthly calendar
- Use stickers to save space. My preferred size for monthly calendars are 0.25″ mini icons or colored dot stickers
- Time blocking – such as using sticky notes to block out time to work on a project, but then separate lists in your planner to break down the project tasks
- Washi tape is ideal for things across consecutive days e.g. vacations
- When you get a new planner, add those tasks that are often forgotten before you add anything else (e.g. update life insurance)
- You may want to add reminders to book appointments. For example, my dentist is usually booked out months in advance so I have a reminder to arrange the appointment and another reminder for the actual appointment
- Dot markers are great for color coding and saving space
Read more: 7 Ways to use dot markers in your planner or bullet journal
Related: 10 ways to plan using sticky notes
Tools for using your monthly calendar
- Colored dot stickers
- Date dot stickers
- Colored pens
- Highlighters
- Washi tape
- Ruler – if planning 2 things at once then divide the boxes for each day in half
- Sidebar stickers such as social media, exercise
- Dot markers
Related post: Dot Marker Comparison: Zig Kuretake Clean Color Dot versus the Tombow Play Color Dot
30 things to put in your monthly calendar
Click here to download a printable of the list for your planner
Tasks / Reminders
- Habits
- Eat that frog (the things you don’t want to do.. but have to)
- Last time I did
- Cleaning (especially seasonal cleaning tasks) e.g. clean the roof gutters
- Most important task for the day
- Once a month only tasks
- Choose a few from my list of 52 life admin tasks
- Birthdays, public holidays and special events
Life
- Vacations
- Appointments
- Budgeting (bills due, daily spending)
- Life updates e.g. update insurance
- TV shows & movies
- Pet care reminders
- Things to learn e.g. lessons / classes you’re taking
Read more: How to color code bill paying in your planner (7 different ways)
Food & Health
- Meal planning
- List of recipes to try this month
- Weight Loss
- Daily calories intake
- Menstrual cycle
- Mood tracking
- Exercise routines
- Daily steps
- Illness tracker (especially if you have young kids)
- One of the following health check ups (as applicable to you / depending when you did them last): skin check e.g. if any of your moles may be cancerous, weight, dentist, eye check / glasses prescription, mammogram, pap-smear, blood pressure, iron levels, cholesterol level, blood donation, vaccinations, bowel cancer screening, hearing test etc.)
Related post: 10 Bullet Journal weekly layouts if you want to keep work and personal in the same spread
Business
- Blog content planning
- Social media posting
- Statistics tracking e.g. number of new subscribers per day
- Sales goals / daily revenue
- Mileage
Related post: Setting up a new planner: 70 Tasks to add
Related post: How to print any printable at any page size
Different layouts for monthly planning
If a traditional 1 box per day format isn’t working for you, here are some other options:
- Add some project space below the calendar so your bigger picture goals aren’t lost in the day to day planning
- List format
- 2 sections per box (1 for work and 1 for personal)
- Ditch the monthly calendar and try a habit tracker and to do list instead
- Use separate calendars for work and personal
1 page monthly calendar printables
2 page monthly calendar printables
More planning tips
- Using a monthly calendar for weekly planning
- How to use the monthly notes pages of your planner
- Color coded monthly meal planning using sticky notes
Monthly calendar spread layout ideas
- 12 Planner Layout Ideas for Monthly Habit Tracking in Your Bullet Journal
- 10 Different ways to do a monthly goals review in your planner
- My monthly planning process (all 7 steps)
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