Create a new healthy habit in 4 simple steps with a monthly Mini challenge
Have you ever wanted to start a new healthy habit… maybe taking a walk outside every day, or eating more veggies, or meditating? But it sometimes seems overwhelming adding one more thing to our busy schedules, right? Or maybe you start strong, and you’re rocking your outdoor walk every day and then life happens and you miss a day, or two, or thirty-seven.
Adding a healthy habit to your life doesn’t have to be a challenge when you have a simple system to do it.
Enter the Monthly Mini Challenge! It makes creating a new habit sort of a game. It’s a simple concept and lots of fun, and I wanted to share it with you today.
I’ll walk you through the simple process, and I have a freebie you can download to track your own Monthly Mini Challenge. Or, if you use my big ol’ printable Goal Setting and Life Planner, there is space to track a Monthly Mini Challenge every single month for a year!
1. Choose your challenge.
A Monthly Mini Challenge is simply challenging yourself to create a new healthy habit, or to do so activity every day for an entire month. It can be anything, but I like to choose something that will help me feel better physically or emotionally. Make your goal something small, specific, and trackable, so you can easily envision yourself doing it every day this month. (And possibly into the future as well!)
Be very specific when writing your challenge, such as “I will drink a green smoothie for breakfast every day this month,” rather than vague like “I will eat healthier.” Make sense?
I’ll share some ideas to start you thinking below.
2. Plan to make it happen.
You may have set goals in the past but found you were not consistent or “forgot” about them. No more!
First, print out the Monthly Mini Challenge tracker (or use the one in your printable Goal Setting & Life Planner) and post it where you will see it daily.
Second, plan a time to make your challenge action happen each day. Be specific, like “I will declutter 2 items from my kitchen every day after dinner.” Set an alarm on your phone if you need a reminder!
Third, is there anything you can do to make it easier for you? If you are making a green smoothie for breakfast, can you assemble smoothie baggies of greens and fruit and toss in the freezer? If doing 10 minutes of yoga, can you put out your yoga mat and find a YouTube video to follow the night before?
3. Set a reward.
This is an optional, but fun, step! How can you reward yourself to celebrate completing your Monthly Mini Challenge? Make it a good one … and write it down.
4. Track your progress every day.
Here’s where the magic happens… track your progress every single day. Just use the printable Monthly Mini Challenge Tracker or the one in your 2019 Life Planner. Each day check off if you did your action or not. It’s simple!
The cool thing about using a simple tracker like this is that you can see your progress at-a-glance. Lots of check marks, you’re a healthy habit rock star. Lots of blank spaces, and you need to ask yourself “why?” Is there some way you can simplify adding this action to your day? Is it something you really, really want to do?
Monthly mini challenge ideas.
These are some suggestions, but choose a healthy habit or action that is meaningful to you.
drink a green smoothie
walk outside for 20 minutes
read a book just for fun
do yoga for 10 minutes
declutter 2 items from your kitchen
email a friend just to say “hi”
start a gratitude journal (I use these gratitude printables)
eat 3+ servings of veggies
watch a TV show with your SO
walk 10,000 steps
find joy every day, and write it down
get 7+ hours of sleep each night
pray or meditate
journal your thoughts (I use these journaling printables)
log off social media an hour before bed
It’s your turn..
Now that you know how simple, and fun, it is to challenge yourself to create a new healthy habit, I challenge YOU to begin making Monthly Mini Challenges a part of your routine. Each month on this blog I’ll share what my Monthly Mini Challenge will be so you can join in, or be reminded to set a new mini challenge for yourself!
And, if you don’t own the 2019 Goal Setting and Life Planner, be sure to download a free copy of the Monthly Mini Challenge Tracker!
Be sure to PIN this blog post so you can find it in the future!
Welcome!
Are you a busy lady (like me) who really, really wants to live a healthy life? I get it because I’m obsessed with living my best life too. Here you’ll find simple ideas and strategies to plan a healthy and happy life.
I’m Jacqui, by the way, and I’m the crazy busy lady behind Plan A Healthy Life.
Need to organize your life??
The 2019 Plan-a-Healthy-Life Printable Planner is a calendar and goal-setting system all-in-one.