Screw annual resolutions! I have a better solution for you, which I have been doing for several years now. You destroy bad habits with it or form good habits that stay. Whether it’s creative habits or you just want to get up earlier. I’ll give you a foolproof guide on how to do it.
Change your Habits with a Challenge
I present to you “The Habit Challenge”! This is a challenge where you try to change your habits every month. Why only one month? Because that is often enough. You always hear about the 66-day rule to form a habit but fuck that. If it doesn’t work after a month, keep going for another month. And another month. Until it just works.
Do only one challenge and change only one habit! Anything else will overwhelm you, and you’ll give up anyway. You have 12 months in a year. Even if you take 2 months for each habit, you will have changed 6 in one year.
Make a physical note or use an app for your progress. Stick a homemade calendar on the wall where you cross off what you have done each day. On the piece of paper, write the challenge itself. Maybe also some information and tips.
Now and then, you’ll see that the challenge doesn’t work. Maybe one that fails badly. Shit happens. Change it or make a new challenge. If it is important to you, keep doing it to beat the habit into you.
“Oh no, the month has already started, I can’t do the challenge now.” Stop right there! Hear this: You can start right now! It will be just a 2-week challenge to practice. Or you do your challenges from mid-month to mid-month. No one is forcing you to go by the traditional calendar. Make your own damn calendar!
The Habit Challenge – A Step-by-Step Guide
Step 1:
Firstly, write down what habits you want or want to banish from your life. Maybe how to change your perfectionism.
Plan the challenge, what exactly you want to do, and when precisely. Make it tangible! A challenge of mine a few years ago was to get up at 6 am, read for half an hour, and be ready to start working early. If you know you can’t do something, you can just start with the 5-minute rule: Do it for only 5 minutes. You can always add more time later.
Step 2:
Then take a piece of paper and draw 31 squares on it. Write the title of the challenge and what you want to do (as said, define it clearly). Put some tips and info’s on it if you feel like it. And anything else too! Let your creativity run wild.
Step 3:
Now do the challenge!
Step 4:
After a month (or whenever you want), sum up and analyze the whole thing.
Here is a list of questions you can ask yourself:
Did it not work? What exactly didn’t work? What patterns do you see in this failure? Can you do something else? Do I just have to keep going? Can someone help me?
Did it work? How did you do it? Can you do something the same way for your next challenge? What did you do better than the last time?
Analyze your failure and your success in detail. Sometimes one part of your habit worked better than another. Figure it out! Only through such a breakdown can you approach the next month better. It took me a few tries to form my perfect morning routine. To know what works and what doesn’t, I had to check and do my challenge again and again.
And you can do it too, now get started!
