A new year... 30 days trial? Part 2

Here are some other ideas for applying 30-day trials:

- Give up TV: Tape all your favorite shows and save them until the end of the trial.
- Shower/bathe/shave every day. I know YOU don’t need this one, so please pass it along to someone who does.
- Meet someone new every day. Start up a conversation with a stranger.
- Go out every evening. Go somewhere different each time, and do something fun — this will be a memorable month.
- Spend 30 minutes cleaning and organizing your home or office every day. That’s 15 hours total.
- List something new to sell on ebay every day. Purge some of that clutter.
- If you’re already in a relationship, give your partner a massage every day. Or offer to alternate who gives the massage each day, so that’s 15 massages each.
- Give up cigarettes, coffee, sweets, soda, junk food or other unhealthy addictions.
- Become an early riser.
- Write in your journal every day.
- Call a different family member, friend, or business contact every day.
- Make 25 sales calls every day to solicit new business. If you make 1300 sales calls a year, you’re going to get some decent business no matter how bad your sales skills are. You can generalize this habit to any kind of marketing work, like building new links to your web site.
- Write a new blog entry every day.
- Read for an hour every day on a subject that interests you.
- Meditate every day.
- Learn a new vocabulary word every day.
- Go for a long walk every day or exercise at least 30 minutes every day

Again, don’t think that you need to continue any of these habits beyond 30 days. Think of the benefits you’ll gain from those 30 days alone. You can re-assess after the trial period. You’re certain to grow just from the experience, even if it’s temporary.

The power of this approach lies in its simplicity. Even though doing a certain activity every single day may be less efficient than following a more complicated schedule — weight training is a good example because adequate rest is a key component — you’ll often be more likely to stick with the daily habit. When you commit to doing something every single day without exception, you can’t rationalize or justify missing a day, nor can you promise to make it up later by reshuffling your schedule.