When it comes to self-improvement, making small changes over time can lead to big results. This is where 30-day challenges come into play. Setting a specific goal for a month and committing to it can be a powerful tool for personal growth. It easily gives you the momentum needed to create meaningful changes in different parts of your life. Seriously. By committing to small changes and building positive habits, you can transform your life and become the best version of yourself.
Today, we will be sharing quality tips on how to change your life in 30 days, the habits to implement during those days, and ideas of what the focus of this change can be. The overall goal is improving your life, and we can’t just leave that to chance. If you’ve been looking to make a change, we’re here for you! Here is our guide:
How To Change Your Life in 30 Days
Change is uncomfortable, but so very necessary. To maximize the 30 day period for significant life changes, there are some principles that when applied, can greatly improve your chances of sticking to your new lifestyle. Think of them more as tips & habits to implement to experience true change in just under 30 days. And remember, each tip doesn’t operate singularly. The more of these principles you can apply at once – the better your chances of long-term success.
Define your intentions (things you want to change in your life).
The first step to changing your life in 30 days is to get clear on what you want to achieve. Start by writing down all the things you want to change in your life or improve upon within this time frame. You can make the list holistic or zero in on a part of your life you are concerned about. It could be your relationship, finances, eating habits, physical fitness, or general self-care.
After you have chosen the desired part of your life to address, clarify what the aim is with this area. Do you want to be more frugal with finances? Do you want to improve your mental health? Or, do you want to amp up your skincare game? The answer to this possible question based on your chosen aspect serves as the purpose of the entire exercise and every step taken will be towards ensuring this purpose is fulfilled.
Set clear and measurable goals.
After you have properly defined your intentions for embarking on the 30-day challenge, the next step is to set clear goals that will help you in achieving them. Try to set specific and measurable goals and break them down into smaller steps. Kind-of like a roadmap of how to go about them.
This practice helps you to stay focused and motivated and gives you a sense of accomplishment as you reach and surpass each milestone. Make sure your goals are realistic and achievable within 30 days. Check out this episode of Him & Her called “How To Achieve Your Goals, Enjoy Success, Strive For More, & Hold Yourself Accountable, All While Avoiding Burnout” to learn more about the importance of this habit toward achieving success in any chosen task.
Define daily actions.
Break down your goals into smaller, more manageable tasks that you can accomplish on a daily basis. After all, you DO NOT want to burn out and abandon your plan after just a few days in. The best way to do this is to factor in everyday life and define what actions you need to achieve the set goals. Keep your daily actions simple and achievable. Some examples include:
+ Taking a 20 minute walk each day
+ Performing one random act of kindness each day
+ Organizing one space of your home each day
+ Committing to one act of self-care each day
Decide on your reward for completing the 30-day challenge.
Commit to taking the actions you have defined and decide on your reward. This means prioritizing your goals in your daily schedule and making sure you follow through with your plan of action every day.
If you have financial habits you want to keep, maybe your reward could be a vacation. If you have food goals, then your reward can be a dinner at your favorite restaurant. Or, if you have workout goals, maybe your gift to yourself when you’ve worked out consistently is to buy a new outfit to flaunt your healthy body. The choice is yours! You can get more ideas in the episode of What We Said titled “Tips to Stay Motivated, Self Discipline, & the Importance of Routine.”
Plan for possible distractions.
Shit happens, right? But when you’re doing a 30-day challenge, you want things to go as smoothly as possible while leaving some room for flexibility. Here are some tips for avoiding possible distractions and/or setbacks.
Declutter your physical space and your mind so as to simplify your life. Get rid of things you no longer need, and simplify your daily routines to reduce stress and that feeling of being overwhelmed. This helps you ensure time management and effectiveness while going about your daily goals and objectives. You also can listen to The Dream Bigger Podcast episode “How to Maximize Your Schedule, Time Batching, Balancing a Social Life with Work, and All My Productivity Hacks,” to learn how to make better use of your time. Siffat Haider gives us the scoop on distractions to avoid and how to remove possible issues that can arise later.
Though the aim is to stay on course with the structured plan, you must also plan for possible distractions, slip-ups, setbacks, and just life in general. Don’t be discouraged if things don’t go exactly to plan. Instead, accept when things aren’t perfect, and look for the best way to still stay on track when they happen.
Define how you will track your progress.
Keep track of your progress by monitoring your daily actions and measuring your achievements. Celebrate your successes and learn from any setbacks or challenges you encounter. This is best achieved by keeping a journal of your daily plans where you record and track your progress each day.
For more on journaling, look no further than, The Dream Bigger Podcast. In the episode titled “A 101 Guide on Journaling, Using Journaling for Manifestation, Journaling Prompts, and More” Siffat Haider shares all there is to journaling and gives quality insight on how to go about it.
Practice self-care.
When you feel good, you have more motivation to reach your goals. So, take care of yourself both physically and mentally. This can include getting enough sleep, taking breaks when you need to, and doing activities that bring you joy. Incorporate exercise into your daily routine. Aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity each day. This habit not only improves your physical health but also boosts your mental well-being.
The What We Said podcast hosts shared insights on the relationship between a clean and prepared space and the success of your daily routine in the episode “HOW TO CLEAN UP YOUR LIFE.” Take note of one or two things you can do to make your personal space more conducive to helping you to achieve the desired changes in under 30 days.
Find sources for continued motivation.
Trust us, 30 days will FLY BY. But when you’re in the thick of it, you might need a little extra motivation to get you through. Listen to podcasts or read books that inspire personal growth and self-improvement. Podcasts are a great resource for this. By learning from others’ experiences and insights, you can apply these lessons to your own life. This episode of Scheananigans titled “The Mindset Mentor.” is a useful tool for staying motivated and not maintaining high vibrations from day 1 to day 30.
Also check out these podcasts to help build your mindset and motivate you throughout your 30-day challenge: Him & Her, The Papaya Podcast, The Career Contessa Podcast, and The Dream Bigger Podcast.
Exercise and meditate daily.
Try waking up 30 minutes earlier than usual and use that time to meditate or exercise. For the best mediations, listen to the Mind. Body. No Soul podcast. There is a new episode every week to keep you in the best shape towards tackling your daily plans. If you still need more meditation tips, check out Dear Gabby and her episode on guided meditations.
Starting your day with a positive activity helps you feel more energized and motivated to tackle your daily plans. A good morning routine is a key step towards a positive day where you can meet all your set targets and goals. Plan out your day by prioritizing your tasks and synchronizing them with your schedule for the day in the 30 days plan.
Practice gratitude.
Take out your gratitude journal, and start your day by listing three things you are grateful for. This practice helps you focus on the positive aspects of your life and improves your overall mood. It also helps you acknowledge the strides you have made in your daily plans and set you up for more. It’s an important habit to practice as also explained in Life with Marianna as she spoke on her daily habits. Friends, you really cannot go wrong with positive affirmations. More on gratitude HERE.
30-Day Challenge Ideas
In just 30 days, you have the opportunity to create new habits, break old ones, and transform your life. Whether it’s starting a daily exercise routine, practicing mindfulness, or learning a new skill, dedicating yourself to a challenge for a month is achievable and can inspire you to keep going beyond that initial commitment for long-term benefits.
The act of committing to something for 30 days also helps create momentum toward positive change. By focusing on one thing at a time and seeing progress toward your goal, you may feel more motivated to continue making other positive changes in your life. So why not give a 30-day challenge a try and see where it takes you?
Here are some top 30-Day challenge ideas based on different areas of life you might want to try out:
Body fitness.
You can make significant and sustained changes to your physique and shape with a suitable 30-Day Workout Challenge. A fitness challenge is a good way to get the ball rolling towards building stamina and achieving that shape you so desire. You don’t have to go for strenuous challenges, there are notable stay-at-home challenges you can look at and use to make changes to your body.
Examples of ideas for such challenges include a Running Challenge for improved cardio, a Jump Rope Challenge for agility and cardiovascular fitness, an Abs Challenge for a strong core, a Butt Challenge for a more defined booty, and a Burpee Challenge for toning the whole body.
Relationships.
Has your relationship with your partner hit a rough patch where everything becomes too predictable and bland? A suitable 30-Day Intimacy Challenge to bring back the spice and flavor might just be what you need.
Intimacy challenges where there is something special to do every day for the next 30 days are a useful tool to save the flame of your relationship from burning out. Though most of these challenges are self-determined, some examples of intimacy challenges are Communication Challenge, Sex Challenge, Words of Affirmation Challenge, and Acts of Service Challenge.
Finances.
Having the right plan for your finances could keep you from living from hand to mouth. While it’s common knowledge that everyone wants to always live on a high, keeping a bit for rainy days (as they say) might not be a bad idea. If you can’t put your finger on how your income and expenses go, then a 30-Day Savings Challenge is right up your alley.
You get to determine and vary the challenge based on what the goal is and you can also use the challenge to pull resources from within toward a goal. The challenge will open you up to places where you can cut back on expenses, show you the things you can do without, and of course – help you save money.
You can track your spending, create and stick to a budget, try a shopping ban, or create and follow a savings plan.
Mental health.
You need not wait until you sense a problem before attending to your mental well-being. For those who deal with a lot of stress that leaves them overwhelmed, a 30-Day Yoga Challenge or 30-Day Pilates Challenge could do you so much good.
If the stress on your mental well-being is more from the inside, then consider a 30-Day Gratitude Challenge. Listing out the things you have gotten right and all the things you are thankful for in your life is a good way to boost your self-esteem and shun voices pushing you down with negative thoughts.
Eating Habits.
Good eating habits affect your physical and mental health. And friends, we’re here to tell you, if you don’t have good eating habits, best to get started now! Your digestive system, your brain, your body, and your tastebuds will thank you.
If you’re looking to cleanse your body and maybe even shed a little weight, consider a 30-Day Diet Challenge or a 30-Day Clean Diet Challenge full of fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats. If you’re healing your system, consider a 30-Day Gluten & Dairy Free Diet Challenge. Or, if you’re just looking to mix things up in the kitchen, try a 30-Day New Recipe Challenge.
Self Care.
Caring for yourself and your personal space involves virtually all the things mentioned earlier but it can also be more specific. Since it involves self, the challenge will depend on what aspect of your life requires change. Self-care and decluttering challenges help you to take care of your mental, physical, emotional, and personal space. They can be used to get rid of bad habits and learn good ones.
Examples of a 30-Day Self-Care Challenge include giving up on alcohol or caffeine for 30 days, no junk food for 30 days, reducing sugar intake, staying off social media, and so on.
Expression.
Creativity shouldn’t be forced, but honing a skill properly requires putting yourself on the spot and bringing out your best repeatedly. This way you get to do better, make mistakes, learn from them, and repeat. All of these are pivotal on your way to producing your masterpiece. So if you’re one of the creatives, you can try out a 30-Day Drawing Challenge, 30-Day Reading Challenge, or 30-Day Writing Challenge depending on what you fancy.
You can keep an art journal where you draw on a topic every day or write a poem/body of work daily. If your thing is podcasting, consider setting a 30-Day Podcasting Goal to record content each and every day.
Make lasting changes to your life and learn lifelong habits in 30 days.
Science has it that it could take as little as 18 days to learn a habit. This means 30 days is more than enough time to learn and adopt your new healthy habits. By implementing these tips & tricks, you can easily change many aspects of your life in just 30 days.
To make the process easier and more fulfilling, you can make use of podcasts to learn and grow from others’ experiences. See our full show list of inspiring podcasts, here. Remember, change comes from within, so commit to making these small changes and watch as they transform your life for the better.
Creating positive habits takes time and effort, so stay consistent and be patient with yourself. Focus on small wins and celebrate your progress along the way. Good luck & be sure to update us on your progress below!!!