What I Learned When I Tried Something New For 30 Days

A couple of months ago, I wrote an article about trying something new for 30 days.



The idea came from a TED Talk by Matt Cutts, who decided to write a book in 30 days. It's a great way to tick something off your life list, learn something new or make time for something you've always wanted to do.



I decided to try and write my own book in 30 days and just to make things interesting, I went to Paris to do it.








Here are 10 things I learned from trying something new for 30 days:

1. The first week is the hardest. Get into a routine and stick to it.
   


2. There will be days that you will want to skip, but don't! Just push through.
   


3. Once you're past the halfway mark it gets much easier. You actually start to like it because you notice the difference it makes to your life.
   


4. It's hard to be disciplined. Despite your good intentions, when you're tired, you've got a splitting headache or you want to go out and do anything else, you must summon all of your willpower to stay focussed.
   


5. Have a goal. I wanted to write a book so I made sure I took the steps every day to do it. You may want to achieve something else like do a chin up or read War and Peace. Once you know your goal, you can set daily targets to reach it.
   


6. Make it fun. You decided to do this new thing because you wanted to. Don't make it a burden; make it something you look forward to.
   


7. Tell people about your plans. The more people you tell, the more likely you will be to stick to it because they'll keep asking you about it.
   


8. Try to encourage other people to do it too. On the days where it all just feels too hard you can work on it together (or just whinge together).
   


9. Reward yourself at the end.
   


10. Set a new goal and try something new the following month.

August is just around the corner. If you're thinking of trying something new, why not start next month? Write a comment and start telling other people about it.