AUGUST RESET 2022 + july faves // trying a reset routine!

Happy August!

Today I wanted to chat about a few of my July favourites and share my August reset routine that helped me prepare for a new month. If you don’t know, a reset routine is a routine you perform a few days before a new month, which includes cleaning, doing something you’ve put off for a long while, making plans for work and life, and tying up loose ends from the previous month. It’s a routine that should help you prepare for upcoming challenges and make you think about the future while acknowledging the past.

If you love lifestyle and beauty posts, follow me on Instagram @xocaligo! I share loads of cat pics on my stories, and pretty stuff like beauty flatlays, nature photos and makeup looks on my feed posts.

monthly faves: july 2022

This month I don’t have too many favourites, so we’ll start with them.

My beauty faves include two products: an eyebrow gel and a liquid eyeliner that I’ve been using almost every day for the past couple of months. The Rival Loves Me Brow Mascara is perfect for days when I want to apply something quickly and not fuss around my makeup. It’s easy to apply, lasts all day, and keeps the eyebrow hairs in place. The Catrice 24h waterproof brush liner works well for any makeup look and wears well on bare lids, which is great for low-key makeup days!

Another beauty-related product is my Isana Q10 anti-wrinkle night cream. I know I’m very young to use anti-wrinkle products, but I suffer from dry skin and bad sleeping habits, so most “moisturising” creams created for young people don’t nourish my skin the way I want. This cream has made my skin soft, evened out my skin tone, and healed dry patches. It also does a great job of prepping my skin for makeup. I love it, and a more in-depth review is coming next week!

Since I didn’t watch any TV shows or movies worth mentioning, the last favourite is my tiny Leuchtturm 1917 planner. I had fallen out of love with bullet journals, but in July, I got the palm-sized Leuchtturm 1917 planner with black covers and squared pages to rekindle my passion for planning. I love its compact size, and I can’t easily overwhelm myself by planning too many tasks for a single day!

monthly reset routine for august 2022

I’ve been obsessed with watching YouTube videos on monthly reset routines, so I sat down for a planning session and came up with my plans for August. This month my reset routine happened at the desk, where I sat and thought about my aspirations, direction in life, and what I have to do to achieve my goals. I hadn’t done that in a long time, so it gave me a certain sense of calmness.

My reset routines will include cleaning, cooking, budgeting, monthly goals and other things that are relevant to me at that time. I’ll do my best to make them helpful to you, too, and share any tips and tricks I’ve learned!

My August reset routine includes budgeting, setting goals, and thinking of fun activities for the weekends. Next time I’ll share other things, too, but for me, this August is all about organizing my life.

Photo by Content Pixie from Pexels.

✨ work, blog & social media goals ✨

Almost a year ago, I became a freelance translator. I translate movies and TV shows, and it’s a fun but time-consuming job. My pay depends on the amount of work I get done, but I don’t want to overwork myself to chase money.

Another area of work (which I have neglected) is my blog and social media. I didn’t have any inspiration for new posts; each time I sat down to write, I stood back up as I couldn’t push out even one coherent sentence. Recently I took some days off all work, and now I feel much more inspired. I have planned some posts I’m excited about, and I can’t wait to share them!

My goal for August is to find a work-life balance. I can do that by planning out the tasks for the day and setting time slots for them. For example, today I got up at 6:50 AM, and by the time I started working at 8:30 AM, I had finished many chores without any stress. I can also help myself by doing the tedious tasks as soon as possible; the more I set something aside, the more I don’t want to do it. 

Besides that, I don’t have many other work-related goals, though I would like to figure out monetization for my blog and stick to a posting schedule. I’d also love to learn how to make TikTok videos and become more active on Instagram and Pinterest. However, I don’t have any follower-related goals.

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels.

✨ planning my budget ✨

I have to be honest – I haven’t been the best at budgeting. So far, I’ve done it intuitively, but I want to start sitting down at the end of each month and creating a budget.

My budget planning consists of taking all of my income and dividing it into four categories: services, necessities, living expenses and random stuff. From then on, I fill my DIY Excel budget spreadsheet, which you can see in one of the photos. It’s something I’m trying out, but once I figure out a spreadsheet that works well, I’ll share it on my blog!

I won’t disclose my income as I’m not comfortable with that, but I’ll mention how much of my budget each category takes up. Also, keep in mind that this budget includes things for two adults and four cats.

The first category is services like subscriptions and phone bills – anything that I need to pay every month that rarely changes. It’s the first and least painful category!

The second category is necessities aka groceries, medicine, cat stuff, hygiene and cleaning products. This is the second most expensive category of my budget and takes up about 1/3 of my monthly budget, since it includes things for two adults and four spoiled cats.

The third category is living expenses: rent, utilities, debt, transportation and taxes. In total it takes between one third to a half of my income, but I can’t complain too much as the flat owners allow pets – many do not, especially if it’s more than one cat.

The last category of my budget is variables. It can include stuff like clothing, bigger purchases, fun activities, savings, necessary medical expenses for us or the cats, and other things that change every month. I put savings in this category as for now I can’t afford to save anything above five bucks, but I’m working towards it. This category varies the most; some months it’s tiny, while other months it can rival all living expenses.

Below you can see a small pie chart with percentages that each category takes up this month. This month we need money for dentist and veterinary services, so the last category is just as big as the necessities category. That being said, I doubt it’ll be THAT expensive, so hopefully we’ll have some money left over.

✨ what I want to do in August ✨

During July, I didn’t do many fun things, and I want to change that by pre-planning what I want to do and where I want to go. Now, I’m not the most exciting person – my favourite free-time activities include going to Lidl and reorganizing my kitchen. I’m not a fan of concerts and parties as they overwhelm my senses, though I like more low-key activities like coffee dates with friends and museums.

Besides deep-cleaning my house (it’s both a chore and a cathartic experience), I would love to have a beach day, celebrate my name day with my family, and go to an art museum. If I do any of these things, I’ll do my best to take some photos or attempt to make a fun TikTok video!

✨ wellness reset for august ✨

I have many goals for my health and wellness for August to make me happy. I already feel well, but I could improve my mood and energy levels by moving around more and adjusting my eating habits.

Bullet journalling is one of the things I want to get back into during August, as it’s one of my favourite hobbies. A similar hobby is reading books: my goal is to read for ~20 minutes every day, or to read 2 chapters per day. These hobbies help my inner world: to-do lists liberate my brain, and books calm my soul.

Diet-wise I want to cut out any sugary foods (besides fruit and berries) and stop drinking fizzy drinks. I love energy drinks, Coke Zero and snacks, but they are bad for your body, just like sugary foods. I won’t stick to any diets, though I plan on making more homemade meals with veggies.

The last two healthy habits include workouts and walking. I have all the necessities for running, which is something I want to start, and I also have a yoga mat and some weights for at-home workouts. In August, I hope to work out 2-3 times per week, and go on daily walks to reach a step count of 7k+ steps per day. (Ideally, I’d love to walk 10k steps, but 7k is good enough.)

Overall, all goals require only two things: time and determination. Plus, the more I do them, the more they’ll feel like habits!

Photo by Taryn Elliott from Pexels.

#QOTD: Do you like reset routines? What else would you like to see in a reset routine? Honestly, I’m not sure I fully understand how to do them, but it’ll get better. Since they could help me become more organized, I’ll try them out for the remaining months of the year. If I like them, I’ll stick to them in 2023, too!

Until later,

xoCaligo

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This is not a sponsored post; all opinions are my own, except when stated otherwise. I am not being paid to promote anything.