All You Need to Know About The Something New Everyday Challenge

In my previous post, I had written about the #SomethingNewEverydayChallenge I had taken up in November and the best moments I had due to that. In this post, I will be writing about the benefits and my experiences during the challenge so that you could be well equipped if you want to take it some day.

Before I begin, let me say this once again. I found the challenge very useful. I am not the same person I had been a month ago. I have become more productive, focused and reduced the bouts of overthinking I used to do. I am sure you will benefit from this too.

 

What is Something New Everyday Challenge?

It is self explanatory. You need to do something you haven’t done before or in a long time on each day of the challenge. For instance, trying a new cuisine, a new line of work, learning something new, calling up someone you haven’t called in a long time, starting a new habit etc.

How is it beneficial?

1. Among these 30 new things you do in a month, you might end up making a positive lifestyle change or a value addition in terms of knowledge or skills.
2. You might decide to do something you have always wanted to do and had been procrastinating.
3. You will always be on the lookout for something new and that will keep your day exciting.
4. You might make some alarming discoveries about yourself.
5. You will keep yourself busy trying to do something different every day.
6. One of those 30 things might stay with you forever. In my case, I have a new piercing. 🙂
7. By the time you are done with the challenge, ‘looking for something exciting’ might become your attitude towards life.
8. You might inspire someone to make a positive change in their life.

What is the time span of the challenge?

You could do it for a week, a fortnight, a month or even more. I found that a month was ideal because I gradually got into certain habits I had started. If you need to bring a lifestyle change and make a new habit, a week will not be sufficient, but a month will be ideal.

What if I miss a day?

Don’t panic. No one is monitoring you, but you. If you miss a day, it is alright. Don’t stop taking the challenge. Forget the skipped day and continue.

You don’t have to do great things in every day of 30 days. Something as simple as watching the sunrise or nature is good enough. On one day, I put a new kind of photograph I happened to click. I did a throwback for one day, and I also pulled up a ‘Today’s something new is doing nothing new’. 😛 There is no hard and fast rule. You set the rules and you bend them as long as there is a balance.

Should I plan in advance?

Yes please. Make a list of things you really want to do. Pick the ones that are doable in a short span of time. As you take up the challenge, go about your day and try to find simple random new things to do. In between, fix days for those important things in your list. In this manner, you will be doing new things in the course of your day and also will be checking off things from your bucketlist.

My experience and concerns and how I tackled them.

1. My biggest fear was that I would stop midway. To avoid that, I started planning my days in advance. Sometimes I had things planned for an entire week and that eased my fears.
2. There were days when I didn’t do anything new and panicked at night. I would take a look back at the day and find something new that I did involuntarily. Through this, I started looking at things I did in a new light instead of considering them to be mundane.
3. Sometimes I would be too tired to post it on the same day. So I posted a few on the very next day. As I said, there are no hard and fast rules. You can be flexible as long as you are progressing in life.
4. I am not doing some of the things I started doing the challenge. Do not expect 100% results. Don’t feel upset if you stop doing one or two things you began. If you have had even one long term benefit from this exercise, it is a positive change. It is one step further.

You need to put some effort on this. But the results are totally worth it. You can go through all 30 days of the challenge I took on my instagram account, contact me if you have any questions and I’ll be happy to help.

So what do you think of this challenge? Will you take it up?