A full year of 30 days challenges
30 days challenges are awesome.
They help you stretch your willpower muscle, they help you grow and keep you on your toes. Some habits stick, some don’t, but you still get a deeper understanding of how it would feel, for you, to be “on the other side” — and then adjust to fit your own lifestyle and preferences. Also, the blog posts describing time-boxed challenges are some of favorite to read (and write, back in the day when I used to run a blog for over a year).
Because of this, and also because I was inspired by both Anca and Nicoleta, I decided to take a full year of challenges. Some might not be exactly 30 days-long, some might vary depending on the opportunities, some might stretch way beyond the 30 days mark, some might overlap. We’ll see. If you’d like to join me along this little journey, click that “Follow” button near the little icon with my face and my red scarf. And click ️️the ❤️️ as well, I know you like to make people happy — and you’d make me very happy!
Some possible contenders:
- doing a talk inside the company-> at a small meetup-> at a big conference (public speaking still scares me)
UPDATE: Done. I did a lot of presentations this year already. My highlights: presenting in front of 50–60 people at the #1 Digital Nomad Meetup in Moldova, and being live online at the same time; the video has been viewed almost 24000 times already :O Also, I’ve been interviewed on TV, live, in the studio, which was also a first for me.
Best tip for public speaking: be passionate about what you’re speaking about — you just won’t care and won’t be afraid to speak out!
- organising an event by myself
UPDATE: Done. I’ve organised and co-organized too many events, meet-ups and trainings to count this year. - creating a youtube music channel and sharing a mix each week (using the other days to curate the music)
UPDATE: I still have several private soundcloud playlists full of amazing music, but I’m too busy listening to it. I hope Soundcloud will be there forever ❤ - doing the Elimination diet — in order to check my food sensitivities
UPDATE: Done. I discovered I am highly sensitive to lactose.
UPDATE #2: Plant-based (vegan), eating mostly whole foods, starting May. - a strength workout challenge (might be something related to kettlebells)
UPDATE: Ended up doing a cardio challenge. I still walk 5 to 10 km daily and take the stairs everywhere. Might still do a strength challenge in the future. - no sugar
UPDATE: Done. I replaced my sweet needs mostly with fruit, sometimes dried fruit. - no alcohol
UPDATE: Done. I highly recommend it. If not for your wallet, do it for your weight — and especially your next-day productivity (even a low quantity affects 99.9% of us). Right now, I adhere to the “no alcohol during the week” (and sometimes beyond it) rule. - 30 days coding challenge (on Free Code Camp)
UPDATE: Went to Rails Girls for 3 weekend-bootcamp and created a website with UN’s Global Classroom for 2 months instead. - a minimalist challenge (30 days with 10 clothing items, maybe?)
UPDATE: Done (click to read the article). - not buying anything new for a month
UPDATE: Done. Too easy. - 1 photo a day challenge
- tracking the time for everything I do (with Toggl)
- minimum 30 second planking every day
- drawing (logos, t-shirts, whatever)
- minimum 30 minutes daily book reading
- no coffee
UPDATE: Done. I only drink decaf now, once every 2 weeks. - eating only home cooked meals
UPDATE: Done. I still make my lunch every day, and rarely eat in restaurants now. The impact on my health has been tremendous. I became highly adventurous in the kitchen now! - waking up early
- 5 min of daily running (don’t judge me, I’m an absolute beginner)
- writing something to be grateful about every day
- writing a short ebook
Do you have a challenge you’d also like to start? Having some suggestions for me? Comment below.
Update September 8th: I can’t believe I crossed almost all of them in 7 months! Only now I realized how much different my habits and my daily activities were, compared to last year, and how much closer I am to the person I aim to be. Hurray to 30 day challenges!
Update September 11th: Someone suggested to take a no-plastic 30 day challenge (no plastic bags, straws and tools). Sounds interesting, I have no idea how I’d do it, though — so many things around me are plastic. Can I use my water bottle? How about my phone? I guess I’ll have to make up my own rules.
