Learn the three tips to help you successfully complete the next challenge you participate in and stay on track along the way.
The internet is spewing with challenges, from 30-day squat challenges to 365-day reading challenges, and everything in between. I even host my own challenges right here on the blog a few times a year. Whether you love or hate them, challenges push the limits of your habits and routines, and let’s be real here, sometimes they’re just too dang hard to keep up with.
If you are constantly starting challenges but falling off the wagon on day 5, you’re in the right place! Here are a few tips for actually making it to the final day of your next challenge and feeling like a total #boss for sticking with it the whole time.
1. Print The Challenge On Real Actual Paper
No more screenshotting or leaving the email hanging out in your inbox to refer back to. Take it back to 1995 and print the challenge on paper.
Sure, you intend to check back on that original email every day. And you thought it was smart to screenshot the 30 day list. But both of those methods get buried behind junk email and puppy pictures. The key to staying with a challenge is having the list as accessible as possible.
Once you print it, stash it in plain sight in a place you frequent multiple times a day. Like the refrigerator door, the coffee station, or even your bathroom mirror.
2. Knock It Out Early In The Day
It doesn’t matter if you’re a morning person or an evening person. Your brain only has so much energy per day. And just like a five year old, most of that energy is in the first half of the day. The second half of the day turns your brain into a cranky, tired, unmotivated five-year-old that woke up early from their nap.
By doing your challenge earlier in the day, you’re less likely to find excuses to put it off, and you get it behind you before the craziness of the evening kicks in. Work a full-time day job and don’t have time in the morning? Commit to yourself that you’ll do it during your lunch break, or you’ll wake up 30 minutes early.
3. Get An Accountability Partner
You won’t believe the power of having someone to report to every day! Your accountability partner should be someone who is not participating in the challenge with you so their opinions are unbiased. Bonus points if you choose your friend that always shoots it to you straight and isn’t afraid to give you tough love.
Every day during the challenge, you should send your accountability partner photo evidence that you did that day’s objective. If 5:00 rolls around (or whatever time you agree on) and you haven’t sent your photo yet, your hard-core BFF will be texting you asking for it.
They won’t let you give her some dumb excuse, and they won’t accept “I’ll do it later.” They’ll tell you to turn off Housewives reruns, get off Facebook, and get your ‘ish done. Learn more about accountability partners in this post, along with a replay of an Instagram Live video.
Need A Challenge To Practice On?
I got you! Before you tackle something big like my 28 Day Decluttering Challenge, start small with something manageable. I just created a brand new mini-challenge that is so easy to stick with you’ll want to do it twice!
No matter how organized or disorganized your house is, we can all benefit from a week of purging. This NEW 5 Day Purging Challenge has a daily prompt to help you clear the clutter in five minutes or less.
Each daily task is designed to fit into even the busiest of schedules, so you can totally work this challenge into your day without missing out on afternoon tea and your favorite evening TV show. Drop your email address below and I’ll send you the challenge immediately so you can get started today!
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