It’s spring cleaning season. But as you freshen up your home, have you thought about how to freshen up yourself? A 30-day challenge might be the perfect way to help you shake up your normal routine.
I’m sure you’ve seen a variety of challenges for everything from losing weight, to reading or writing, to meditation. While the time frame for challenges might differ – some might be as short as a week – these short-term challenges have some things in common.
WHAT ARE SHORT-TERM CHALLENGES?
Most of you are probably already aware how these types of challenges work. But, for anyone who might not be as familiar. these challenges are a way to focus attention on one thing for the designated time. Some challenges focus on health – exercising every day, losing a certain number of pounds during the month, walking, number of steps. Others center on reading a certain number of books, writing a certain number of words, or spending less on unnecessary items.
The point behind these types of challenges is to set a particular goal to help you concentrate on one thing at a time. And, the short time frame allows you to stay focused in shorter bursts. Focusing on one thing for a short time provides quicker success.
MY 30-DAY CHALLENGE
I decided to do my own 30-day challenge based on habits. My motivation for doing this is twofold: 1) I’m at home a lot right now, so I’m looking for a way to shake up my day a bit, and 2) I’ve been reading a lot of non-fiction lately, specifically about habits/goals and how people learn.
Based on my research, I decided to do my own 30-day habit challenge. In my reading, I particularly enjoyed The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do In Life by Charles Duhigg.
Duhigg, a behavior researcher and former journalist, sets out multiple case studies and medical studies, in addition to stories from companies, to outline how habits are formed and changed. But in the midst of all the interviews and neuroscience, he breaks down the process into practical steps that an individual or business leader can take to adjust their habits and/or company culture.
My challenge came about by accident.
I started out thinking I would do this for myself. But, as I read more, another element of creating lasting habits is the role of community. Having a support system, whether that’s your family and friends, a school or work group, or even strangers who join an online course. So, naturally, I decided to create my own challenge community.
I created a Facebook group, and invited a few friends to join me in the challenge. I created a basic workbook, including some preparatory questions and daily journal entries. There’s also a daily tracker to mark off when we complete the day’s tasks. There will be daily discussion prompts in the Facebook group. The group’s primary function is to share ideas and encourage each other during the 30 day challenge.
For my challenge, the habit I chose to work on is technically two parts, but they work together. I want to kick my pop drinking habit (or soda depending what you call it where you live), and drink more water.
BENEFITS OF DESIGNING HABITS
Habits are powerful, but delicate. They can emerge outside our consciousness, or can be deliberately designed. They often occur without our permission, but can be reshaped by fiddling with their parts. They shape our lives far more than we realize – they are so strong, in fact, that they cause our brains to cling to them at the exclusion of all else, including common sense.
– The Power of Habit by Charles Dugigg
We all have habits. And many times, we don’t even realize them. There are positive habits – regular exercise or spending time on a hobby. But we also have many negative habits we’d like to change, things like smoking, snacking on the wrong foods, or procrastinating on important projects.
But, as Duhigg outlines, habits can be designed. The basic habit process of Cue-Routine-Reward can be created to develop new habits, and manipulated to change unwanted habits.
Changing habits starts with recognizing them.
By recognizing your habits, you can begin to change them. But, you need to dig down to the reasons behind the habit in order to change it. And to build a new habit, you need a clearly designed process.
- Cue – an emotion, person, a place, or a sound/smell that causes you to want to engage in the habit
- Routine – the step-by-by-step process you go through (often without thinking) after the cue triggers your habit response.
- Reward – the reason you keep engaging the habit.
Most habits form over time. For the many habits that form without us even realizing it. By taking control over your cues, routine, and rewards, you have the power to add positive habits and change those you want to turn to your favor.
Once you reshape your thoughts around one habit, you learn to control and build other positive habits.
** Have you ever participated in a short-term challenge? What kind of habits would you like to develop or change? **
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