30-Day Challenges to Try this Year

List of 30-Day Challenge Ideas

Most of us wake up on January 1st determined to turn over a new leaf. We’re sure that THIS year we will drink more water, lose weight, and stop checking our phones every three seconds. But most of us don’t have any kind of plan for how to make this happen. Our vague ambition to exercise more or eat more veggies doesn’t translate to the actions needed to realize our goals. Enter the 30-day challenge. Spending 30 days taking action in a way that moves you toward a goal can be invigorating and a way to jump-start a healthy habit. These 30-day challenge ideas span physical health, mental health, and spiritual health.

30-Day Challenge Expectations

Before taking on a 30-day challenge, be honest about your expectations. If you go into it with a mindset of “I can do anything for 30 days,” you’re not going to permanently change your life. But a 30-day challenge can be a fun way to take action on a positive habit, cut out something unhealthy, or just try something new. There are two keys to a successful 30-day challenge. First, focus on the sense of accomplishment you will feel in completing a hard thing. And second, expect that the repetition of positive, healthy actions will move you toward implementing these actions in your life as healthy habits.

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Get a printable pack of 30-day challenge trackers along with specific challenges in my Etsy shop!

30-Day Challenge Tips for Success

Start at the beginning of something. Our minds are funny this way. According to James Clear, author of “Atomic Habits,” implementing a habit change is much more likely to succeed when we start on the first of a month, at the beginning of a week, or on the first day of school. We need a beginning to rev our engines.

Do it with somebody. An accountability partner or someone who can commiserate with the agony of giving up coffee creamer for a month will make a big difference in our success.

Don’t break the chain. Jerry Seinfeld famously reports hanging a calendar every January and marking a big red X each day he writes something. The idea is that he wants to be able to X out the days and not break the chain. So grab a calendar and start crossing out the days. At the end of this post, you can join my mailing list to download my free 30-day challenge printable checkoff chart!

Health & Fitness Challenges

30-day challenges are highly popular in the health and fitness arena. You can pick pretty much any exercise and make a 30-day challenge of it. In the healthy eating realm, cutting out junk food, sugar, or soda is common.

Beyond the physical challenges, though, you can find challenges inspiring you to spend time cultivating a hobby, decluttering your home, or learning something new. Here’s a list of my favorite 30-day challenge ideas to try.

30-Day Challenge Ideas: Fitness

It was hard to narrow this list down. You could find thirty challenge ideas in the fitness category alone. I’ve pared it down to six challenges that are most appealing to me based on the likelihood that I will complete them and the capability to adjust for levels of fitness.

1) 30-Day Workout Challenge

Essentially, this is a challenge to exercise every day for 30 days. On the plus side, there’s a lot of flexibility in this. However, more flexibility can mean your brain has to work a little harder (come up with a workout plan for 30 days), which may result in giving up. I like this 30-day challenge idea, but I think the best chance of success with this is to have a fully formed plan in place. I like this 30-day workout plan from Nourish Move Love. You can download a free calendar with clickable video links where she coaches you through each workout. For a simple 30-day workout challenge, Your Modern Family has a printable 30-day calendar with different exercises provided for each day.

2) 30-Day Pushup Challenge

I’ve been thinking about a doing pushup challenge for a couple of years now. Runnin’ for Sweets has a great beginner pushup challenge that starts out nice and slow with only 4 pushups and works up to 26 pushups at 30 days with several different pushup styles included for working those muscles in a variety of ways.

3) 30-Day Jumping Jack Challenge

One option is to do 100 jumping jacks a day for 30 days, as suggested by Challnge.com. Or choose a challenge that gradually increases the number of jumping jacks you do each day, like this one.

4) 30-Day Plank Challenge

Strengthen your arms and your core with a plank challenge. You can find a beginner 30-day plank challenge at fitnessgoals.com. Adjust the time for a more advanced challenge.

5) Mile-a-Day Challenge

Walk at least one mile a day for 30 days. That’s it. If you need more of a challenge, run at least one mile a day for 30 days.

6) 10,000 Steps Challenge

This challenge requires some type of pedometer or step tracker. The goal is to get in at least 10,000 steps per day for 30 days. It’s harder than it sounds to get to 10,000 steps. If you sit at a desk most of the day, you’ll need to work hard to get 10,000 steps in. That’s what makes it a challenge, though, right?

30-Day Challenge Ideas: Healthy Eating

The second category of 30-day challenges that is highly popular are healthy eating challenges. The most well-known is probably Whole30, but there are plenty of 30-day challenge ideas that aren’t quite as intense.

7) Whole30 Challenge

I completed a Whole30 challenge one time, and never again since. It was a great experience, but honestly, it requires a significant time commitment for food prep in addition to being committed to the idea of removing junk from your diet. To fully comply with the requirements of this 30-day challenge, you must be willing to read labels VERY carefully, spend extra time cooking and prepping food, and definitely do some specific meal planning. For all the details, visit Whole30.com.

8) No Added Sugar Challenge

For a slightly less challenging challenge, try going without any added sugar for 30 days. This means eating fruit=OK, drinking OJ=not OK. (If you want to be really strict, you should also eliminate high fructose fruits like bananas, cherries, and grapes, plus dried fruit.) The point is to eliminate as much sugar from your diet as possible. No artificial sweeteners, no substitutions like honey or agave. You cannot eat chips, crackers, or condiments that contain added sugar either!

9) 30-Day Water Challenge

This one is simple, but can have a dramatic effect on how you feel if you are currently not getting enough water. A typical goal for water consumption is 8 glasses per day. This article from the Mayo Clinic can help you determine how much water you should be drinking each day.

10) 30-Day No Soda Challenge

If you are a big soda drinker, or even a moderate soda drinker like me, a 30-day no soda challenge can kick-start a healthy lifestyle change. I’ve told my kids for years that soda is poison and yet, I still love my diet Coke. Sometimes it’s better to take an extended break rather than try to convince myself I’ll only have it once a week.

11) Meatless Challenge

A 30-day meatless challenge has been on my radar for a while now, but I remember the pain of trying to complete a Whole30 challenge while my family was NOT doing Whole30. My meat-loving family is not on board with this challenge and I am too chicken (haha) to take on a challenge that requires me to meal plan and cook for two entirely different diets. I’m keeping it on my list because one of these days, I’m just gonna do it and force my kids to eat more vegetables in one month than they’ve eaten in their entire lives up till now! Over at Cookie + Kate, you’ll find amazing vegetarian recipes to get you started.

4-Section 30-Day Habit Tracker

If you feel up to the challenge and you have more than one habit you want to track, I have a download perfect for you. This one page has space to check off 4 items per day for 30 days. Join my mailing list below for access to my printables library, where you’ll find a 30-day habit tracker and get started today!

30-Day Challenge Ideas: Creativity

12) 30-Day Reading Challenge

I like to think of this challenge as an easy win, since I read almost every day anyway. But there are a lot of possible variations to a 30-day reading challenge. You could try reading one article on a particular subject of interest every day for 30 days. Or spend at least 10 minutes per day reading something related to your field of business. You could choose to read the same poem or Psalm every day for 30 days. By the end you will probably have memorized it simply from repetition. You could read a book out loud to your kids every day for 30 days. Or give yourself 30 days to read a book that’s been on your reading list for years.

13) 30-Day Photo Challenge

If you love taking photos, a 30-day photo challenge might provide new inspiration. Over at The Idea Room, you can find Photo-a-Day challenges for every month of the year!

14) 30-Day Writing Challenge

November is officially National Novel Writing Month, but you can participate in a 30-day writing challenge any old time you like. Challenge yourself to write for a set amount of time daily or given yourself a minimum number of words to write daily. Visit scribendi.com for 30 daily writing suggestions.

15) 30-Day Drawing Challenge

Spend a few minutes each day challenging yourself to draw based on specific prompts. Over at Magenta Sky, Susan Yeates runs 30-day sketchbook challenges. The next one will run in January 2021, but you can view all the prompts and video instructions for her most recent challenge also.

30-Day Challenge Ideas: Lifestyle

16) 30 Days of Journaling

Although similar to a 30-day writing challenge, a journaling challenge is typically more introspective. Challenge yourself to journal for 30 days in a row. Try this simple list of journal prompts from Robyn Liechti.

17) 30-Day Gratitude Challenge

You can keep this simple by keeping a notebook handy to write down something you are thankful for every day for 30 days. Or, if you prefer a specific focus, you can use my 30 days of thankful journaling prompts.

18) 30 Days of Prayer

There are 30-day prayer challenges to prayer for your children or 30 days of praying Psalms. Grace Based Families has several 31 Days of Prayer guides to choose from.

Read: 30 Days of Praying Scripture

19) 30-Day No-Spend Challenge

For many families, the Christmas season means extra expenses, and potentially credit card bills in January. A 30-day no-spend challenge in January may be just what you need to keep your budget in check.

20) 30 Days of Early Rising

Love or hate them, early mornings are prime productive time periods for most people. Try it for 30 days. You get to choose the time and the challenge. Set your alarm for 15 minutes earlier than usual, or make it a 5AM wakeup call for 30 days. If you decide to do a 30-day early morning challenge, read my tips for a better morning and miracle morning inspiration first.

21) 30 Days of No TV

Yup, I went there. This one is on my bucket list of challenges, but I haven’t done it because I have three kids and a husband who might shut off my internet if I tried to make them give up TV for a month. I love the idea of a 30-day no TV challenge, but I probably need to start with a week! Let me know your results if you try this! Here are 30 activity ideas to try instead of watching TV.

22) 30-Day Get Outside Challenge

With all the staying home, curbside pickup, and delivery options happening in 2020, a lot of us are probably spending less time outside than ever before. Challenge yourself to spend some time outside each day, whether it’s 10 minutes or 30 minutes.

30-Day Challenge Ideas: Organization

23) 30-Day Decluttering Challenge

This is a common 30-day challenge to do in January. You can choose to devote a significant amount of time to decluttering for 30 days, or set a timer for 15 minutes each day and spend that time on the specific spaces you decide to work on. I have a free printable 30-day declutter challenge you can download to get you started. For each category, get rid of broken items, things you no longer use, and unnecessary duplicates.

24) 30-Day Organizing Challenge

An organizing challenge is different than a decluttering challenge in that the goal is not just to reduce the amount of stuff you have, it’s to create a system for using and storing the stuff you keep. Typically, an organization challenge requires a greater time commitment than a decluttering challenge. If you’re ready to take on the challenge of organizing your home, you can use my free printable 30-day organizing challenge to focus on small areas each day. You’ll need to think through how you use each item or area, and set up systems of storing and accessing that work for you.

25) 30 Days of Lists Challenge

My very favorite challenge, of course, is a 30-day list challenge. Make one of these lists every day for 30 days, and you will be more organized, better prepared for your daily life, and develop clarity around your goals and priorities.

For an even bigger list challenge, check out my Ultimate List of Lists to Make. These 75 lists will help you organize your entire life.

Read: The List-Maker’s Guide to a Meaningful Year—12 Lists to Make

Ready, Set, Go!

That’s 25 challenges for you to choose from! Pick one, choose a start date, and challenge yourself to get out of your comfort zone. Work on improving your health, organizing your life, or beginning a new habit. I hope you found something to inspire you!

Need Help Following Through on Your Priorities?

Try my monthly priority planning lists and choose one thing to focus on per month. You’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish in a year!

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30-Day Challenge Ideas