30-day Project: Succeed at Anything!

Most people who read this have noticed that the post frequency has stepped up a lot recently, and I've talked to a handful of you about why: I'm doing a 30-day project where I blog about something I have an opinion about, every day for 30 days.

I first encountered the concept of the 30-day project in fifth grade; we were given the assignment to write something every day for 30 days. There were a handful of rules about what happened if you missed a day (10-year-olds couldn't be held to the exacting every-day-no-questions standard), but the basic premise was the same; thirty days of doing something is long enough to develop a habit.

I've encountered this concept a few other times on the internet. And I think it's true: commit to do something every day for 30 days; tell your friends/family/teachers/acquaintances that this is what you're doing; don't allow yourself to skip a day, or you'll have to start over; and you'll have acquired a new habit.

This 30-day project of blogging is my second recent 30-day project. In March, I determined (while under the spell of the out-of-shapeness that comes to most people who take on jobs that require sitting at a computer, all day, every day, in your own home) that I would go running for 20+ minutes every day. It was a satisfying and successful 30-day project; today, I had my first public confirmation of my success, by completing a 5k charity run. Not only was I able to complete the 5k (under hillier terrain than I'm used to, and faster than I normally go), but I had enough stamina to keep going through Sunday afternoon pickup basketball (which itself exhausted me when I started playing, long before the 30-day run).

I have a lot of ideas about new 30-day projects to try after I finish this one -- and I'd encourage any of my readers to join me! Weigh in in the comments -- what habits do you want to build?