Was inspired by a recent TED talk I heard concerning challenging yourself to do something new every day for thirty consecutive days. Basically, it’s a behavioral modification technique that is rooted in the idea that in order to develop a new habit you need about a month’s time of doing it continuously. If you really wish that you could stop biting your fingernails — go a month with biting them and, odds are, the behavior will stick.
For my first set of thirty day challenges, I simply wanted to go without mindless surfing, so I axed out Facebook and Reddit completely from my life. Additionally, I also wanted to give either my dog or baby a walk around the neighborhood because it is something I love to do but oftentimes — whether through fatigue or scheduling — I hadn’t been able to do consistently.
Well, with August in the books I’m here to report that I almost completely kept to my two goals! I successfully didn’t check Facebook or Reddit for the whole month and I only missed three days of walking due to inclement weather — so I’ll chalk that up as a success as well. I definitely can see both of these new habits sticking and plan on brainstorming a complete set of challenges I want to do and start implementing them on a monthly basis, two-at-a-time.