109: What a 30-Day Challenge Will Do for Your Productivity.

One thing that keeps me going and keeps me focused is challenges. If I don’t stretch myself and try something new, I’ll keep doing the same old same old. Challenges keep us strong and keep us on course to finish the race.

In today’s episode I’m talking about a new challenge I’m giving myself and why you should consider doing your own 30-day challenge. I’ll give you some examples from my past and how they’ve helped shape me.

When you plan on doing something big, what is your first action? Are you one to just jump in without a game plan? Maybe you’re someone who thinks methodically through every aspect of the project by mapping out everything you must do.

I love challenges. They keep me focused and keep me grounded. When I carry on with business as usual, I get bored and tired of doing the same monotonous thing. It’s a week after week thing.

Don’t get me wrong, blogging is fun, podcasting is fun, and writing is fun. But when I’m not stretching myself to go to the next level, I get bored. Do you ever feel that way?

I want to give you three reasons challenges will keep you focused and make you a better communicator.

1. Challenges allow you to set a time oriented goal.

Think about the beginning of the year. You plan out your resolutions and do your best to make them a part of your year. But you find most fail at their new year’s resolutions within the first three weeks. What’s the reason; we don’t set time specific goals.

When you take the time to plan out your goals, set a calendar reminder every day to accomplish them, you’ll find it easier work on that said goal. Goals need specific time stamps. When you set your goal, pull out the calendar and make an appointment with yourself at the same time every day.

2. Challenges give you permission to give it your best.

When I set out to do a goal oriented challenge I make sure I give it my best attempt. The goal of a challenge is to see if you can rise to the occasion and get the job done. You’re given permission to lay it all on the table and try your hardest.

I recently did a 30-day Bible challenge. The goal was to read all 66 books of the Bible in 30 days. If you want to take the challenge, you can CLICK HERE. I made it to the New Testament. It was tough, challenging, but oh so worth the try.

Even though I didn’t make the end of the challenge, I gave it my all and I put my heart into it. In fact, that’s what I’m about to do again, maybe this time I’ll get it done.

3. Challenges allow you grow.

When I set out to do this 30-day Bible challenge, I didn’t know how I would change and grow. By the time day 30 rolled around, I knew I had a deeper appreciation for God’s Word.

Another 30-day challenge I did a few years ago was writing my 30-day devotional on Grace. I wrote the book in four weeks. 25,000 words in thirty days. That was a tough pill to swallow. On top of writing the book, I had to put together four key-note teachings on the book.

I now know I can write a book in 30 days. I know I have that inside my soul. Because I knew each week I had to have a set of devotionals written for each teaching, it pushed me to go beyond myself and get the job done. When you push beyond what you believe you’re capable of, you will grow as an individual and know you have it in you to succeed.

What’s the next challenge?

I’ve had my fair share of challenges over the years. Some I’ve succeeded at, like my devotional book on Grace. I’ve failed at others, like my attempt to read 66-books of the Bible (even though I consider it a success at reading over 40 books.)

Taking the time over a course of 30 days gives me permission to either succeed or fail. One thing is certain when you do a challenge that stretches you, you’re taking a step to the next level of your life. In other words, challenges give you the ability to grow and stretch yourself to succeed.

After some serious thought, I’m planning on doing a 30-day writing challenge. This challenge will encompass three things:

1. Writing something in my book every day. The goal, 1,500 words which would give me a combined total of 45,000 words.
2. Write a short blog post update every day. This second part allows me to communicate with you how I’m doing on a daily basis. Each post could be video or written.
3. Don’t stop my regular blog, email, and podcasts. The main thing is to remain focused on my usual posts.

I know this will be a challenge. In two weeks I’ve written nearly 13,000 words but it’s time to up the ante. I would love to have my book finished in 30 days.

How can you help?

Now you know what I’m up to, do you want in? I know the main NANOWRIMO is still coming up in November, but I wanted to do my own 30-day challenge ahead of time. That means I’ll be doing this again in November.

Do you have a book on your heart that you’ve been playing with? Are you wanting to start your career as a writer and finally get you book written? During the next 30-days, I’d love for you to join me. If you do, send me an email and let me know if you’re joining me on writing for the next month.

As writers, we all need connection and encouragement. This is why I’ll be writing my experience daily right here. I want you to know how I’m struggling, what my word-count for the previous day was and where I’m heading next in the story.

Writing is hard work, but with the right mindset and a challenge to add, I know I’ll rise to the occasion and write like I’ve never written before. If you do this challenge, I know you’ll have a book you can be proud of.

How about it? Let’s get writing!

[reminder]Have you done a challenge before? If so, what was the outcome and how did you change?[/reminder]