Challenges you might actually finish
Short, specific and unglamorous, which are the only three qualities that make a challenge stick. Take the card, post it, start.
7
The First Hour
No phone for the first hour after you wake up.
7
Finish One Thing
Finish one unfinished thing before starting anything new.
5
Say The Thing
Each day, tell one person something good you have been thinking but not saying.
14
Twenty Minutes Outside
Twenty minutes outdoors every day, no destination required.
7
Make Something Badly
Make one thing a day and let it be bad on purpose.
3
Complaint-Free Day
Three days without complaining out loud about anything you cannot change.
7
Paper Only
Read something on paper for fifteen minutes a day. No screens in the room.
10
One Thing Out
Remove one object from your home every day for ten days.
7
Ask One Question
Ask one person a real question each day and let them finish answering.
5
Lights Out Early
In bed an hour earlier than usual, five nights running.
7
Different Way Home
Take a different route to a familiar place every day.
3
No Opinion Needed
Three days of not offering an opinion unless someone asks for it.
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Why these are short
Thirty-day challenges mostly fail in week two. Three to fourteen days is long enough to notice a difference and short enough that the end is in sight from the beginning, which is what keeps people going.