Introduction
Ready to make this year your best yet?
Then you’re in the right place.
I don’t know about you, but every year I try to do a little better than the last. We
learn new
things, make mistakes, experience setbacks, and have breakthroughs. Life often seems like
the
ebb and flow of a wave, however, amid all of this chaos, if you try hard enough you can
manage
to make a lot of progress. So much so that you turn around and can hardly believe how far
you
came in a single year.
But it takes work. And you need to be willing to do the work from the moment the
New
Year starts if you want to create a real transformation in your life.
Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.
– George Bernard Shaw
There’s nothing like starting the New Year off by front-loading a ton of momentum to get your
year
started in the right direction. That’s where the idea of the thirty-day growth challenge
comes
from.
By no means do you have to do everything below, it’s more of a framework, but if you
use it
as a guide and apply yourself to completing it, you have the ability to generate a huge
amount
of momentum towards your goals this year.
Also, keep in mind that perfection is pretty much impossible. Things will come up and
there
will be days where you just can’t make that day’s objective happen. That’s okay, I’d shoot
for
an eighty percent completion rate. If you can do that, you’re off to a great start for the
year.
I’ve included some “free” days partly for that reason, so you can use them to make up for
missed
objectives. However, it’s also important to go occasionally without the pressure of having
to
complete a new objective hanging over your head, hence the occasional day break.
Here’s the 30-day growth challenge:
Week 1
Week one is all about developing important habits and establishing things that will
serve as
the framework for getting the most out of your day over the next year:
- Day 1: Leave last year behind (and
commit
to no expectations): It’s important mentally to leave the year behind.
A lot happened, I’m sure, and you probably had your fair share of challenges, but if you
hope to make progress this year you need to leave this all behind. This could be
something as simple as taking a short walk on the beach and allowing yourself to let the
past rest behind you.
- Day 2: Set goals for the year (or
reevaluate them if you already have). What do you want to accomplish
this year? You won’t get very far if you’re not clear on what you want.
- Day 3: Break those down into quarterly goals and use a
weekly
accountability system to track your
progress.
- Day 4: List important assets you need
to
accomplish those goals. Chances are, you don’t have everything you need
to accomplish your goals. Make a list and figure how you’ll acquire the assets you need
to do that (such as skills, new contacts, etc.).
- Day 5: Make a vision board. I know, sounds
hoaky –
but it’s not. Don’t pass this one up! (Even if it takes more than a day.)
- Day 6: Start a journal.
- Day 7: Free.
Week 2
Week two is about the outward. It’s about optimizing your environment to maximize your focus
and productivity:
- Day 8: Wake up thirty minutes earlier. Even if
you don’t do anything with it, rising early makes you feel great and puts you in the
right state of mind for the day ahead.
- Day 9: Design a morning routine. Take it one
step further and design a morning routine that jumpstarts your day.
- Day 10: Adopt a nightly ritual. Like the
morning routine, but this is all about optimizing your sleep and well-being by placing
you in the right physical and mental state of being before retiring for the day.
- Day 11: Minimize or get rid of T.V. I know, you can’t do without
Game of Thrones. That’s okay, as long as you reduce your T.V. consumption down
to just a few hours a week you’re good.
- Day 12: Do a smartphone/app cleaning. Chances are, you have a ton of
apps you really don’t need or which distract you regularly but bring you little value.
Time to do away with all of it.
- Day 13: Cleanse your social. Social is one of
the biggest time sinks and a constant source of distractions. Reduce the number of sites
you’re on, who you follow, and weed out the bad associations.
- Day 14: Free.
Week 3
Week three is about the inner game of optimizing your performance to increase your
creativity,
performance, focus, and reduce stress:
- Day 15:
Meditate for
five minutes. Preferably, make this a
daily habit.
- Day 16: Try a brain
game. These are great for
optimizing your cognitive functions.
- Day 17: Adopt a mindfulness
practice.
- Day 18: Start
exercising.
It’s important you find a method that works for
you so you’ll be excited to work out.
- Day 19: Start using the
Pomodoro
method
while you work.
- Day 20: Create the habit of
doing problem tasks
first.
There needs to be a sense of order and logic to
how you work. This is the second step to optimizing that
and it influences both your productivity and creativity.
- Day 21: Free.
Week 4
Week four is about growing your knowledge, skills, and other assets. If you took my advice
earlier and listed important assets you need to acquire to accomplish your goals for the
year, that’s a great place to look for ideas on the kinds of things you need to learn,
develop, and acquire:
- Day 22: Start reading.
Depending on your profession, this can be anything that brings
you value. Same goes for the next point.
- Day 23: Start listening to podcasts. Unlike books,
which require your undivided attention, podcasts are great because you
can take them on the go. So are audiobooks. Highly recommended.
- Day 24: Search for a
mastermind or group of like
individuals. If you don’t already have a group of people
you communicate with regularly that are in your profession or are at a
similar professional level, start searching for a group or community.
- Day 25: Do one thing you’re afraid of. The ability to
consistently step outside of your comfort zone is a skill that
can and should be developed now as it will serve you in everything you
do.
- Day 27: Reach out to one
person that can move your career
forward. This is all about building professional
connections. Most of us have a hard time bringing ourselves to make that
initial contact, let alone build entire new relationships with people.
This is about taking that initial step, everything else tends to happen
naturally from there, because we’re motivated to continue.
- Day 28: Perform an act of
kindness. You’ll notice this doesn’t seem to fit
with the theme of this week. However, I’ve found that most of us have
lost touch with (or never knew) the power of helping others without
expecting anything in return. This knowledge, and the understanding that
you always have the ability to exercise it, doesn’t just make you
happier and more fulfilled, it can serve you in your career in a big
way. Such acts of kindness are the perfect way to start off a long and
beautiful business relationship or personal connection.
- Day 29: Free. If you missed an objective at some point,
now is the perfect time to make it up!
The Near Year is a chance to start fresh and do something you have never done before. But if
your goal is to make real progress, then you have to be willing to do what’s necessary. It
takes hard work, persistence to make this thirty-day challenge happen. But if
you do? You’ll be strapped to a rocket and ready to make this the best year of your entire
life.
Whether you follow this thirty-day challenge to the ‘T’ or adapt your own, use this as a
framework for creating the change you want to see in your life this year.