August Monthly Reset
Planning for a Calm August: Embracing Simplicity Amidst Back-to-School Chaos
For me, a new month always feels like a fresh start—a chance to hit the reset button. While every day is truly a new beginning, there’s something about the turn of the calendar page that just makes you feel like, “Alright, we can start over now!”
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July was a bit of a whirlwind, and August is shaping up to be just as busy, if not more so! It’s back-to-school time for us, and not just any back-to-school – it’s a new school and a whole new schedule. My son is heading to high school, which means earlier mornings and more activities for him. It’s going to be a major learning process for all of us.
My main intention for August is to cultivate a calm month. To do that, I’m focusing on simplifying as much as possible to create a buffer around all these new changes. Join me as I share how I’m setting up my Erin Condren Dashboard Layout LifePlanner with intention and simplicity for the month ahead.
Learning from July: What Worked and What Didn’t
Last month, I opted for a more streamlined monthly plan. I found that not writing all the times for each event directly on my icons helped things look less chaotic. I also liked how I used the monthly productivity page (which I affectionately call the dashboard page!). It truly helped me easily pick out what I needed to do.
I’ve been loving my Erin Condren tabbed sticky notes, especially the Earth Tones version. A fun little discovery I made is that if you trim off the tabbed part, they fit perfectly on the side of the dashboard page – a small tweak that adds significant functionality!
One area I’m adjusting is how I approach my goals section. While I typically included a detailed task breakdown on my tending list, I’m going to try it without the full task list for August. I often rewrite those tasks on my weekly dashboard anyway, and I want to keep things looking neater this month. As always, it’s a learning process, isn’t it?
I’m also maintaining my dedicated space for the verse of the month (more on that in a moment!) and my Formula 1 schedule. This August, I’m dedicating the notes page to my menu plan, tying directly into one of my major goals for the month.
My August Goals: Simple, Intentional, and Grounding
As I prepared for August, my focus shifted to three core goals, all centered around simplifying my life and creating more margin for the inevitable unexpected moments. Because, let’s be honest, something always comes up – something breaks, something changes. When our schedules are too tight, these little bumps can derail everything. My current struggle is learning how to avoid over-scheduling and how to gracefully handle those reactions when things don’t go exactly as planned.
Here are my three core goals for August:
- Consistent Menu Planning: I genuinely love menu planning, and while I tend to fall off track during the summer, the back-to-school season always brings me back to it. Getting back into a consistent monthly menu planning rhythm will be absolutely crucial for a calm transition into the school year. It helps reduce decision fatigue and makes those busy evenings much smoother.
- Maintain Daily Bible Time Habit: This is a habit I’ve been diligently building since last November, and it has become an incredibly grounding part of my daily routine. With an earlier school start and potentially busier mornings, I know I’ll be tempted to shorten or even skip this precious time. However, I truly need this quiet moment to set the tone for my day. Even on vacation, I made sure to do my Bible study overlooking the ocean, so I’m committed to finding a way to make it work at home, even with the new morning demands from my son.My verse of the month is Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV): “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” This verse is a powerful reminder for me to trust God through this new, potentially chaotic season and allow Him to guide my path. It helps ease the stress that often accompanies big life transitions. Having it displayed prominently in my planner serves as a constant touchstone for prayer and reflection throughout August.
- Declutter a Small Area Each Week: This is my most flexible goal for the month, and I won’t be overly disappointed if I don’t hit it every single week. My yearly goal was to declutter the entire house, and to be honest, I haven’t made much progress (and might even be going in the wrong direction with new items coming in!). My intention for August is to tackle just one cabinet or one drawer each week, not an entire room or closet. I’m starting with my kitchen storage, which definitely needs a better system that even my family can follow (labels, perhaps, once my label maker is resurrected!).
Supporting My Goals with My Tending List
My Tending List from Cultivate What Matters is an invaluable tool for breaking down these broader goals into actionable steps, and it also allows me to incorporate some of my work goals. These smaller work tasks often feel like “easy wins” that help keep me motivated!
A big work focus for August is launching YouTube Channel Memberships. I’m hoping to make these available by August 1st! This will be an exclusive space to connect more deeply with you, offering additional value without taking anything away from my public content. One of the main perks will be early access to new videos – you’ll be able to watch them as soon as I upload them, before they’re publicly scheduled! I’m also in the process of refreshing my blog, which has been an unexpected but welcome opportunity to update my branding.
Beyond these, I’m carrying over a couple of personal projects from July, like piecing quilt blocks for my American flag quilt (my new deadline is 9/11 – Patriots Day!) and making progress on our backyard project (which, for now, primarily means choosing a project and setting up a savings plan for it).
My weekly rhythms remain consistent and supportive of my goals:
- my Monday morning startup routine
- a self-care reset on Saturdays
- my household weekend reset
- I’m also prioritizing getting next week’s content done in the current week to stay ahead and support the channel memberships perk.
Daily habits like my Bible time (directly supporting my faith goal!), Italian lessons on Duolingo (two-year streak and counting!), and exercise check-ins are non-negotiable.
Setting Up My August Planner: A Visual Walkthrough
For August, I’m using the metallic school supplies cover from Erin Condren – it just screams “August” and has those perfect pops of yellow! It’s the ideal cover for a back-to-school season.
I’m dedicating a full page for my monthly menu plan using a perpetual monthly layout. This dedicated space ensures I stay on track with my menu planning goal. I also plan to utilize sections of the dashboard for my cleaning checklist (which I’m redesigning and will share soon!) and a debit tracker. And, of course, a designated “Don’t Forget” section for those random, but crucial, things that always seem to pop up.
For school notes, I’m reserving a specific section in my dashboard. This will be invaluable once school starts and new information and tasks begin to accumulate. I’m also starting a dedicated school shopping list right in my planner to keep everything organized.
The entire point of this detailed setup is to front-load the effort at the beginning of the month. By taking the time to plan now, my planner becomes a source of calm and clarity when the back-to-school chaos truly hits. I hope this peek into my August planning inspires you to simplify your own routines and embrace the new season with intention.
Want to plan along with me? Grab your planner and your favorite supplies, and let’s set up August together in the video below!
What are you excited for in August? Do you head back to school this month, or is September your start? Let me know in the comments below!