There are plenty of 30 day challenge ideas to choose from. Too many perhaps?
After reading this, I’m confident you’ll be able to pick the perfect 30 day challenge for you. In fact I am willing to bet there are a few challenges that you will want to try because you can see they will make your life better.
And because everyone deserves to choose from the best, I’ve compiled a comprehensive list of 80 of the best 30 day challenge ideas to make life better! All the perfect length to improve your life over the course of a month.
(This post contains affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. You can read more here)
Difference between a 30 day challenge and a New Yea Resolution
A 30 day challenge is different from new year resolutions that many people try (and fail). A resolution is a promise you make to yourself to do something in the future. something that you are trying to change permanently.
Whereas a 30 day challenge is something you’ll do now, for just a month, that you’ll be able to look back on after 30 days and think “wow, I achieved what I set out to do!”. It’s the best way to get started on a new goal.
After a month you can walk away and stop doing it, or you can choose to incorporate it into your life. Either way you win.
Are 30 day challenges worth it?
If you’re looking for the best time to make big changes in your life, then think about how often you make changes in your life.
Monthly challenges are a great way to help you get started. You’re more likely to make a change in your life when you do it daily. By making the changes a habit, you’ll make them easier to stick with.
The challenge is a month long, which means you’ll be motivated to keep going for the entire month. The momentum will help you keep making the changes, and you’ll feel a lot more motivated to keep working on your life!
How do you pick which 30 day challenge to do?
Choosing the right challenge is a lot like choosing a diet. There are hundreds of different diets out there, and they’re all supposed to be good for you.
But when you’re first starting out, you don’t know which one is going to work for you. Because not all of them will.
What challenges can I set myself?
To figure out which one is best for you, you have to know yourself. You have to find out what you want out of life. Are you looking to get in shape? Are you looking to save money? Do you want to improve your relationships?
There are lots of things you could change in your life. Some examples include:
- How you spend your time
- How you eat
- How you feel
- How you live
- How you spend money
I know you’re busy. That’s why I’ve done all the hard work for you! I’ve picked out X 30 day challenge ideas that are sure to make your life better. Each challenge is designed to help you improve your life over the course of a month.
I’ve picked out the best challenge ideas based on the following categories:
- Improve your relationships and life
- Become happier and more positive
- Improve your financial habits
- Self-improvement and productivity
- Fun challenges
- How to improve your health and fitness
- Weight loss challenges
What are some good 30 day challenges? What should I try for 30 days?
A good 30 day challenge for you might not be so great for someone else. However, there are some great 30 day challenges that I personally think would benefit everyone. so if you’re not sure what challenges to set yourself, start with these. They will improve your life if you stick with them for the month.
what are some good personal challenges?
Reduce screen time – set a challenge to keep your screen time to a minimum. Challenge yourself to a maximum of 1 hours day. To hard? Make it 90 minutes and see how you feel in 30 days.
3 positive things daily – taking action to record 3 positive things that happened each day is a wonderful way to bring more positivity into your life. Try it!
Complete a savings challenge – Saving money is always a good thing. Could you save 1000 in a month?
No devices in the bedroom – Create a better sleep hygiene routine by keeping phones, tablets and TVs out of the bedroom. Make your bedroom a sleep haven.
Daily walk – Walking combines exercise and fresh air along with a chance to marshall your thoughts and reset how you feel about the day. Try 20 minutes a day.
How do you Start a 30 Day Challenge?
Getting started with a 30 day challenge is easy. Once you’ve chosen the challenge that’s going to make your life better, it’s time to set a goal. Your goal is about what you want to achieve by completing your month long challenge.
For example, challenging yourself to get 8 hours sleep every night is the challenge but your goal might be to feel refreshed every day and no longer tired all the time. Your goal is deeply connected to your challenge but isn’t necessary the actual challenge.
I suggest setting a goal that you can work towards for the entire month. Once you have a goal in mind, write it down and set a reminder to check in on it every day. Using the example above, make a mental note of how you feel each day. Do you feel more refreshed? Less tired?
You can start a 30 day challenge any time. You can start now and work on one goal at a time, or you can do more than one at once. Some of these challenges work really well together, for example, getting 8 hours sleep every night and following a good sleep hygiene routine.
A 30 day challenge will make you focus on yourself and get to know yourself better.
twelve 30 day challenges to improve your life and relationships
eat a meal together daily
Bring back the family tradition of eating at least one meal together every day. Benefits of eating together include: opportunity to find out how everyone’s day was, chat about tomorrows plans and encouraging good eating habits.
Dinner is often the meal that people aim for but breakfast is just as good. Make sure you all have enough time to eat and talk together. No bolting your food down in 5 minutes due to other commitments. Commit to this 30 day challenge to help family relationships.
call someone
How often do you speak to your parents, family or old friends? Texts, Messenger and WhatsApp doesn’t count. Picking up the phone to chat for 10 minutes takes more effort than a quick text.
Show your family they are worth the effort by giving them a call. These catch ups will bring a smile to you all
write a love note
When was the last time you wrote a cute note to your other half declaring love and gratitude? When was the last time you received one? How lovely to receive an unexpected love note.
It doesn’t have to be long, a few lines will mean so much to your loved one whether your spouse or perhaps a teen full of angst.
do something romantic or surprising
Get even more romantic than a love note and do something surprising for your partner. Go traditional with flowers, chocolate or wine. Or maybe a surprise night out, a romantic moonlit walk. Making the decision and getting it organized is your loved one will enjoy the most.
find different ways tell someone you love them
We often tell someone ‘I love you’, but how often do you explain why you do? Take the time to tell them how much they mean to you, how they have enriched your life for being in it.
compliment a stranger
Make someone’s day and compliment them. Maybe the bus driver or the checkout assistant. Thank them for their service and for helping you today. Go a step further and compliment someone in the street.
Maybe their bag is amazing, their kids well behaved. Compliments cost nothing but will last long after your words have finished.
3 positive things daily
Before you go to bed, think through your day and identify 3 positive things that happened. We remember the bad things so much mroe easily than the good. Write them down in your journal if you have one.
say thank you
We say thank you multiple times a day. How often do you say it while also looking the person in the eye? Yep, that caught me out too. Looking someone in the eye as you thank them and see how much they brighten up. You’ll feel great knowing the difference you’ve made to them.
vision board
Create a vision board of how you want your life to look like. Look at it daily for inspiration and encouragement to make the changes needed to achieve your life vision.
avoid negative self talk
We are often hardest on ourselves. Give yourself the present of a little self love by stopping all that negative self talk. Don’t be hard on yourself. If you’ve done something wrong, find the positive in it (a learning experience?).
mindful listener
Do you ever try to listen to others while doing something else like meal prep, folding clothes or watching TV? Don’t multi-task your listening. Stop what you are doing and really listen to what the other person is saying.
You’ll also notice what they are NOT saying through the small non-verbal signs we often miss when not fully listening.
write a daily thank you note
A thank you goes a long way. A thank you note goes ten times further because instead of just saying ‘thank you’, you can’t help but write out why you are thanking someone. So powerful to see gratitude written down.
thirteen 30-day wellness Challenge ideas to generate happiness
give compliments
Compliments cost nothing but are worth so much to those who receive them. Compliement your co-workers on their work, their lunch or their kids photos. Compliment your taxi driver, the doorperson, the street cleaner. Make someone’s day with a daily compliment.
stop complaining
When you think and speak negatively, you feel more negative. Don’t complain, try to find the good in any situation and see how much more positive you feel.
laugh daily
A daily dose of laughter really is the best medicine. Listen to something funny, watch a funny YouTube video or a few TikToks to lighten your mood and make you laugh out loud.
make list of happy things
What can be more inspiring than reading through a list of things that make you happy? Write a list of the things that make you truly happy, that make you smile and feel a warm glow. Keep that list someplace close and read it whenever you have a down moment,
Gratitude journaling challenge
Practice the art of being grateful by starting a gratitude journal. You could write down 5 things you are grateful each day or even just one. Feeling grateful and reflecting on things you are grateful for help to put a smile on your face and gladness in your heart.
meditate
Meditating for just 5 minutes a day can bring so much positivity into your life. Meditiation can take many forms. To get start why not try the Insight Timer app (it’s free) and find a few short gratitude meditations or affirmations to get started with. The meditiations range from 2 minutes to many more.
daily affirmations
Affirmations are held by many as being a way to attract what you want into your life. Reading or saying out loud affirmations that fit what you are trying to achieve every day helps to focus your mind on those things and take the steps to gain them.
Money can be a cause for concern for many people so repeating positive money affirmations can help you to bring financial success into your life.
self care challenge
Look after yourself! You are important! You need to be healthy in order to look after your loved ones.
listen to music daily
Music helps you to relax and rediscover joy. Different music for different moods. We all listen to music in the car but what about when you get home and have time to truly listen? Take the time to put some music on and listen to it while at home.
Smile more
Do you know how many times you smile every day? It could be less than you think. No matter how serious your day is, make a pact with yourself to smile at least 15 times a day. Smile at yourself in the bathroom. Smile as you pass through a door. Smiles are infectious!
Keep a journal
Journalling is your opportunity to reconnect with yourself. To check in at the end of your day. Journalling can be a 1 minute action summing up your day or a few lines to say how your day went, what went well.
random act of kindness
Have you ever stepped out and helped someone out just because you could? You don’t need to know someone to help them.
“How do we change the world? One random act of kindness at a time.”Morgan Freeman
There is even a Random Act of Kindness Day each year. Wherever you live why not check out their website for inspiration on the things you could do to bring kindness to someone =.
talk to a stranger
Here’s a random act of kindness. Challenge yourself to talk to a stranger every day for 30 days. Don’t stress about what to say. Where you meet them, the people around you, the weather will all help you find the right thing to say. It might be a one liner and they may not reply. No problem!
seven fun 30 day challenge ideas
watch a funny video
Laughter is the best medicine. Laughter helps you de-stress and relax. Exactly what you need after a busy day. YouTube, TikTok or the TV are all full of funny programs and videos that will make you laugh out loud.
no cursing
Fun fact – I used to get ‘fined’ by my parents if I swore. The loss of pocket money when you are a teen is quite a motivating factor to control your cursing. Sometimes curses can creep into our language when there is no need for them.
They make our speech quite harsh. A 30 day challenge for no cursing is hopefully not too hard a stretch for you. And you’ll thank yourself for doing it.
cold shower
A short, sharp cold shower when you wake up gets you day off to a quick start. It refreshes your skin and wakes you up very quickly! Harder to in winter than summer. You could compromise in winter and challenge yourself to a cold shower to get wet and warm water to rinse.
time in nature
Nature really is a great healer. Try and get out into nature to feel the healing effects. No need to hug a tree, walking in a forest, the countryside or along a beach are well known for giving you the happy vibes and feeling so much more positive about life.
Reading challenge
How often do you read? And I don’t mean Facebook! Try the reading challenge where you commit to reading every day for 30 days. Just 30 minutes a day can open you up to the world of the printed book.
listen to inspiring podcasts
Podcasts are great for listening to and learning while keeping your hands free to do something else. Inspire yourself by listening to uplifting podcasts.
audiobooks
We can’t always find time to read a book but listening to one is just as good. Perfect for your commute if you are either driving or in and out of different transport modes.
eleven Challenges to improve your financial habits in 30 days
cut back spending
It’s very easy to rack up a credit card bill without being really aware of how much the bill is going to be. Challenge yourself to cut back on impulse purchases and stick to essentials only spending. It’s only for 30 days but could make a big difference to the money left in your bank account.
create and stick budget
Budgeting is key to successful finances. Speaking as someone who doesn’t love to budget (but I do) I get why so many people don’t budget properly or rather, don’t stick to their budget. Now is the time to change all that.
Write out your budget (for help read my post on how to budget) and then make a plan to stick to that budget for the entire month. Use some of the following challenges to help to succeed.
Don’t eat out
Eating out is a very expensive way of fueling your body. Tasty and nice to do but expensive. Challenge yourself to a month of home cooking only. If you usually spend $50 a week on a meal out, that’s over $200 saved in just 30 days.
Spend less on groceries
How much do you spend on groceries and is there room to cut back? I bet there is! Work out how much you usually spend on groceries each month then challenge yourself to cut back by 20%.
Maybe more, maybe less, depending on how spendy you usually are on food. Meal planning is your friend here. Plan your meals and write your shopping list at the same time. Try not to add extras to the list.
Do the pantry challenge
the pantry challenge is where you challenge yourself to not go to the grocery store and instead feed yourself and your family from the food you already have in your pantry, fridge and freezer.
Given the size of our freezers and store cupboards I bet you could keep this going for a full 30 days. Meal combinations might get a little wacky towards the end. But you’ll save a decent chunk of change won’t you?
complete a savings challenge
There are many different savings challenges out there. From a 52 week savings challenge to a no spend challenge. All designed to help you reset your spending habits and make them better.
If you’re not sure which challenge will work for you check out my post which has 25 of the best money saving challenges for you to choose from.
Clothes shopping ban
Clothes don’t wear out easily which means not buying them for 30 days or even 6 months should not be a problem for your wardrobe. But it will greatly benefit your wallet.
Related post: How to Stop Spending Money on Clothes
create a cash only habit
The cash envelope system is widely used by people who are trying to get their spending back under control. I still use it every year to be more mindful of when and how much I am spending. It’s a great system for making you stop and think about what you spend money on. Harder to hand over cash than swipe your credit card!
Use money affirmations
Affirmations are helpful to keep your focus on the job in hand. Money affirmations can help you foster confidence in your money handling and confidence that your financial situation is going to be okay.
Choose your favorite ones from my post on positive affirmations for money. Write them down then say them out loud to yourself every day for 30 days.
Use a spare change jar
When you use cash, coins are a fact of life. They get spent eventually but why not save them instead? You never miss the coins in your wallet but they soon mount up in a money jar of savings. This ia great challenge for the whole year if you are up for it.
improve your personal finance knowledge
Understanding your finances and the many aspects of personal finance is crucial to creating a great financial life in the future. Saving money into a bank account is not good long term – you will lose money.
But investments and real estate are scary things to dive into. The best finance books for beginners are ones that steer clear of jargon and simplify the discussion.
Read the post above for my top recommendations or check out these 4 books. They will improve your knowledge and boost your confidence in all things money
The Best Personal Finance Books
These are best personal finance books I recommend to anyone who wants to grow their knowledge and take control of their money. Try and buy a used copy - it's good money sense!
Clever Girl Finance: Ditch debt, save money and build real wealth
The perfect book for beginners focused on women. Women tend to earn less and live longer. We need to know how to manage our own money.
The Total Money Makeover: Classic Edition: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness
The 7 baby steps to a total makeover of your money and your ability to manage it. Get out of debt and build your savings.
Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together (Broke Millennial Series)
Written by a millennial for the millennial. A beginners guide with a strong emphasis on the mental aspect of managing your finances.
Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence
This book changed my relationship with money forever. Focused on achieving financial independence (work becomes optional).
seventeen 30 day challenge ideas for self improvement (for better productivity routines)
set your daily priorities
To do lists are great until they become too long. You end up trying to clear as many items as possible which leads you to completing the unimportant tasks instead of concentrating on your priorities.
Creating a priority list of 2-4 tasks that you NEED to complete that day gives you focus. You can do many more tasks but those top tasks are your priority and are to be completed first.
Prioritiy tasks also tend to the the things we don’t want to tackle so making yourself do them first will increase your satisafaction levels and of course you’ll be more productive. No more putting off until another day.
make bed
A simple thing to complete first thing but it’s surprising how many people don’t. Making your bed creates the precedent for a productive day. Do it before or immediately after you vist the bathroom. Definitely before your first coffee.
morning routine
Routines are great for getting the same things done quickly without having to think about them. Creating a morning routine means you can get started before you even properly wake up because your routine is already set and you can go through it pretty much on autopilot. My morning routine includes:
- getting up
- making the bed
- Shower
- Get dressed
- Feed the cats
- Morning cuppa
- Morning meditation
bedtime routine
As above, an evening routine helps you finish off your day in an organised way yet pretty much on autopilot. Helpful when you’re tired after a long day. Routines help you get stuff done with the minimum of thought. You don’t have to think about whether to put away the dishes now or later, your routine has them built in.
declutter
too much stuff at home leads to a clutter house and a cluttered mind. Be more productive at home with clear spaces around you. Decluttering doesn’t have to a laborious task.
Set a timer and whip through one room in 30 minutes seeing what you can remove. Decluttering can mean, re-homing an item, selling, binning or donating it.
keep house tidier
A cluttered and untidy house leads to a cluttered and untidy mind. Free up your mind for more positivity by tidying as you go along. Find everything a home, then when you’ve finished with something you know exactly where it belongs – preferably out of sight, not living on the bottom step.
digital declutter
How much stuff do you have on your laptop? How many bookmarks do you have to scroll through to find the one you need? Take time to declutter all your digital stuff. Whether that’s bookmarks, files, images or your online presence, they can all benefit from a clean up and a clear out.
get up earlier
There are many people who advocate getting up at 5am in order to get a head start on the day. If you are a morning lark then 5am is a bereeze. If you’re a night owl, it’s not.
But getting up an hour earlier than you usually would gives you a solid hour to do something before your normal day begins. People use this golden hour to work out, write, start a side hustle or even meditate.
create unfinished to do list
Many of us have a love/hate relationship with to do lists. Great for getting things done, not so great because the whole list doesn’t get done. You end up with a constant feeling of not completing what you set out to do.
Take the time to list out all those unfinished tasks on your to do list. Maintenance tasks, cleaning taskts, bitty personal admin tasks. Over the next 30 days, work through this unfinished to do list and finish it. You’ll feel super productive and much more satisfied once your have achieved this.
set a deadline to stop work
Working from home makes it too easy to blur the lines between working time and personal down time. Set a deadline for the time you will finish working, whether at home or in the office. It can help to set an alarm on your phone to act as your reminder.
less screen time
Mobile phones, laptops, TVs and tablets can account for a huge amount of our daily life. Working on a computer all day, only to come home and start scrolling on your mobile phone. Excessive screen time isn’t good for you. Why not try to take a break? Have a phone free evening for a month?
No TV
There are so many TV channels that you could watch TV 24/7. But that’s not exactly healthy. Too much TV stops you from getting out and enjoying the fresh air, the interaction with friends and other people.
Why not commit to 30 days of no TV or streaming services? There are so many other productive things to do.
no internet
For me this would a challenge and a half. When you’re at home try not to use the internet for anything. No Googling, online banking, Pinterest or browsing your favorite blogs. Put the laptop down and pick something else up instead.
If you’ve got kids then helping them reduce their technology and screen time can be a challenge. Check out this post on children and technology for lots of helpful tips.
check email once or twice only
Checking emails has become a constant habit for many people. Yet in the space of an hour how many emails do you actually get? Checking for updates and emails stops you from focusing on the priority work you have in front of you.
Indeed emails can be an excuse NOT to complete the work you need ot get done. Challenge yourself to check emails twice a day only. morning and evening is plenty. (Work emails are different although they still intrude when you have priority work)
social media detox
A digital detox, one where you focus on reducing the time spent on your phone can be hard to achieve yet extremely worthwhile. Endless scrolling achieves nothing for you other than a feeling of needing to scroll a bit more.
Some people swear by a 7 day or 21 day phone detox, going cold turkey and not using your phone at all. For a more realistic detox, one where you reduce phone reliance and create more structure around you phone use check out my post on The 30 Day Digital Detox Challenge.
no news
Have you noticed how negative much of our news/media is? Not great for our happiness levels and the negativity seeps out into our own lives. The vast majority of news is about things that are completely outisde your circle of control.
You can’t do anything about the situation even if it affects you slightly. Do yourself a favor and have a news blackout. Gain back the time you lose to listening or watch the breaking news and do something more productive with it.
no devices in bedroom
Bedrooms are for sleeping in, not socialising, working or anything much else. Do you take your phone to bed with you? Do you use it as an alarm and pick it up to check for notifications before you’ve even got out of bed?
You’ll be more productive if you ban devices from your bedroom. That early morning phone check can easily eat up 20 minutes. Minutes that you could be doing something else more important or necessary.
five easy day fitness challenge ideas and health improvement challenges
How in shape can I get in 30 days?
That all depends on your starting point. If you havea fairly active lifestyle already then a 30 day workout challenge will get you into better shape quite easily. If your lifestyle has been extremely sedentary or you’re recovering from illness then your health and fitness will improve in 30 days. With room for more improvement in future months.
Do 30 day workout challenges really work?
Definitely! They are a great way to kick-start a new work out regime. You are challenging yourself for 30 days. If after 30 days you decide not to continue, you’ve still achieved what you set out to do.
Knowing the 30 day workout challenge is for just those 30 days makes it easier to stick to the challenge, even when time is short and life gets extra busy.
daily walks
Walking daily has been shown time and again to improve not just your physical health but your mental wellbeing too. A walk at lunchtime is the perfect break from sitting at a desk or in front of a computer screen.
Daily walks can be as little as 10 minutes but if you can stretch them to a brisk 20-30 minutes then you’ll gain more. 30 day challenges for beginners who want to improve their health need to be simple and easily accessible, a daily walk fits neatly into this category.
10000 steps a day
Getting 10k in steps under your belt can be easy to achieve if you walk to work or have an outdoor job. Not so easy of you drive to work and sit in an office all day. Your 10,000 steps can be a combination of a dedicated walk plus general movement throughout your day.
Quick wins for additional steps are: taking the stairs instead of the lift. Using the restroom furthest from your office. Committing to a daily walk. Getting out at lunchtime or even going for an evening run.
stretch
Too many of us spend hours sitting at a desk, staring at a screen. Our bodies feel compacted by the end of the day. Challenge yourself to take 5 minutes each day to stretch. Morning or evening will provide you with long lasting benefits.
Stretching can be a mindfulness experience as it’s a slow process, reaching out and staying there for a few seconds before moving into another stretching position. YouTube is perfect for finding someone to guide you in safe stretching, because you don’t want to overstretch and give yourself an injury.
fitness challenge
There’s nothing like a 30 day fitness challenge to get our competitive spirit going. Especially when it’s a very specific challenge. You could try 30 days of a plank challenge, a squat challenge, 30 days of yoga or something else that inspires you. Even better, take the challenge with a couple of friends.
Daily meditation
Meditation is a great way to calm your mind and set yourself up for either a great day or a good nights sleep. You can meditate for as little as 1 minute, although starting with a 5 minute daily meditation will probably feel the right length. We’ve all got time to find 5 minutes.
There are free apps you can use with a huge choice of meditiations. Grounding meditiations, affirmations, spirituality and gratitude meditations are just a few of the different types you can tap into. Try the Insight Timer app.
four simple 30-day challenge ideas for weight loss
no fast food/takeaway
Fast food tends to be loaded with fat, salt, sugar and calories. According to experts the average woman needs around 2000 calories a day. A takeaway pizza can be more than half those calories! Commit to a month of no fast food or takeaways and see how your health improves.
eat 3 squares a day
3 square meals a day is what people ate a hundred years ago. Snacks, shakes and takeaways weren’t a thing then and they were healthier for it. Cut back on the snacks and try to focus on 3 healthy meals each day for the next month.
intermittent fasting
Intermitten fasting has gained popularity in recent years. This is one of the 30 day challenge ideas for weight loss that has been proven to work for many people. There was the 5:2 diet – 2 days eat 600 calories or less, 5 days eat what you want.
Or the 16:8 diet. Eat your food within an 8 hour window, fasting for the remaining 16 hours. And of course others have gone further and fast for an entire day (or more). Choose your fasting period wisely, maybe consult your doctor first, and stick to this regime for 30 days. You could well be surprised at the results.
5a day
Getting your 5 a day of fruit and vegetables can be difficult to achieve if you don’t take care. Toast or pancakes for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch and pizza for dinner doesn’t eat into your 5 a day at all.
Challenge yourself to eat at least 5 portions of fresh fruit and veg every day for a month and see how different you feel. Eating fruit as a snack helps add in at least 1 or 2 portions. Reducing the protein and carb element of dinner and bulking out the vegetables can easy add 3 portions straightaway.
eleven 30 day health challenge ideas
vitamins and supplements
Opinion is divided on the benefit of vitamins and supplements. If your overall diet is not squeaky clean with minimal processed food then supplementing it could be just the boost your body needs to go up a gear. Fish oils, vitamin D and B12 are the often cited supplements to get started with.
no smoking or vaping
If you are still smoking (or vaping) then your 30 day challenge priority really should be to quit. And I’m not telling you anything you don’t in your heart know.
There is help out there to help you quit, whether from group support, medical assistance (like patches) from the store or your doctor. Qutting smoking can be the biggest positive you can do for your health and fitness this year.
quit addictive foods
Addictive foods like sugar, caffiene and alcohol are all too easy a bigger part of our diet than they should be. Dry January is the annual no-alcohol month but you can do a no-alcohol month anytime you want.
Quitting sugar for a month is no easy feat as it is present in so many savory foods you wouldn’t suspect. Bread, breakfast cereals, even peanut butter can have sugar buried in the ingredients. Quitting any addicitive food for 30 days has it’s benefits, less reliance on that food is probably the number one benefit.
Cutting them out of your diet can initially make you feel really quite unwell due to the withdrawal symptoms you may feel. Caffeine withdrawal can prove to be a big headache for a few days. But the benefits at the end of 30 days will outweigh the initial difficulties.
more veggies, fewer sweets
If you’re not keen on quitting sugar entirely for a month (and I’m with you on that) then replacing more of your sugary treats with fruit or veggies could be an easier challenge yet still effective when it comes to health improvements.
Instead of a muffin or cake slice in the afternoon have a couple of pieces of fruit instead. Have a fruit salad as your pudding if your evening demands one.
New meal planning strategies
There’s nothing worse than coming home tired and not knowing what to cook. You are so much more likely to eat something unhealthy or spend money you haven’t got on a meal out.
Meal planning is really simple, you don’t need expensive books and weird ingredients. Plan simple meals with a few ingredients and stick to ones that take less than 30 minutes from prep to table.
pack your lunch
Taking lunch to work has many benefits. It will save you a ton of money. Think $8 a day for 5 days is $40 a week or more than $160 a month. Then there is the time. You don’t have to queue at the deli for your wrap. And of course your health.
Packing your lunch puts you in charge of your lunch ingredients. No added salt or sugar when you make your own. You can make itlow fat, low carb, low calorie, high protein, vegan, vegetarian or anything else.
Health improvement challenge – avoid processed snacks/food
Here’s a health improvement challenge for you – avoid all those processed foods you know you shoudln’t really eat. They often have lots of added ingredients in order to make them taste, smell and look like something they aren’t.
Foods with ‘no added sugar’ often have an artificial sweetner added instead. Is sugar bad but sweetners good? I’m not so sure. The more you eat food or cook it from it’s natural state the less processed food you will eat.
Dump the box of mac and cheese and make it yourself. Cheese sauce takes about 10 minutes to make from scratch and has just 3 ingredients. Macaroni 8 minutes to cook and has just one ingredient.
more sleep
Sleep seems to be something that all too easy gets demoted to not essential. With busy lives, trying to cram in long work days on top of a commute, family time, gym and a side hustle. Something has to give and it is often sleep. But sleep is incredibly important for your body.
Sleep gives you chance to repair and recharge. Without sleep you won’t be able to function at your best. Commit to being in bed early enough to allow for at least 8 hours of sleep every night.
no screens 1 hour before bedtime
Laptops and phones emit a blue light, unseen if you’re trying to look for it. But your brain sees it, along with the flicker of the screen and these encourage your brain to stay awake. Not helpful in the last hour before going to bed when you want your brain to slow down, to get ready to sleep.
Put laptops and phones down for at least the last hour before bed and see how much better you sleep and feel in a month. Reading a book before bedtime is a great way to achieve this.
water
Many habit trackers include a water tracker, to track how much water you actually drink. But how many of us drink enough water? Challenge yourself to drink 8 glasses of fresh water every day for a month. Your skin will thank you for it.
no soda
You could easily combine the water challenge with a no soda challenge because the chances of drinking any soda after 8 glasses of water are pretty slim! Regardless of water, dumping soda for a month will leave you feeling better.
More money in your pocket (especially if you replace the soda with water or a drink from home). And likely less of a bloated feeling as your stomach hasn’t have all those bubbles in there for 30 days.
30 day challenge ideas – which challenge will you choose?
Many of these challenges will not be relevant, For instance 30 day challenge ideas for weight loss are of no use to you if you are not overweight. And 30 day challenge ideas for couples are irrelevant for singletons.
But there are so many different 30 day challenges that can change your life, not just for 30 days but potentially forever. Choose your challenge/s and see where it takes you in just 30 days.
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Last Updated on 3rd June 2022 by Emma
