Every year we submit to the self improvement revolving door that is the new years resolution. We start with the best intentions and form starry eyed goals that over drinks, food and merriment from the holidays of the fleeting year. Of course at the time your resolutions seem attainable and well thought out. Come January 1st or second, depending on the hangover, the resolutions are an annoying addition to the hustle and bustle of your life. Not wanting to let yourself down though, you push through. The gym is joined and the diet is started. You find some success over the coming weeks but winter is in full force making everything cold and difficult. It may take 1, 3 or 6 weeks but eventually those resolutions fall to the wayside and the normal humdrum of life takes over. Sadly, next year you repeat this process fueled by the promise of a new year and ambition of another completed.
So what is the answer? There are hundreds of plans, programs and ideas on how to stick with your new year’s resolutions, but if you’re like me, none have worked so far. I’ve tried changing small things to hopefully lead to bigger things. I’ve tried not setting resolutions, rather goals I would like to accomplish by the end of the year. Some have been successful and most have not.
This year I am trying a new approach based on three main principles.
- Revisit positive behaviors that were present last year rather than try to start a group of new tasks.
- Commit to a timeframe that is long enough to form a habit but short enough to be engaging.
- Set up extrinsic accountability to stay on the course.
I cannot guarantee these guidelines will work but they are derived from areas where I have failed in the past. My intention is to commit to 100 days of betterment and see what I can accomplish.
J100
The name J100 refers to the challenge starting January 1st and lasting 100 days. Research has shown that a habit can be formed as quickly as 21 days but more often it takes a person an average of 66 to form the habit. Personal experience has shown me that I tend to rush things so committing to 100 days seems like a safer timeframe for success.
The Goals
Within this 100 days there will be two categories of goals to work towards, the dailies and the cumulative. Dailies are behaviours and goals that need to be practiced every day no matter what. They should be small, easily achieved things that are realistic. Here is a list of my dailies:
- No alcohol
- No parties or social events past 9pm
- Eat vegetables every day
- Eat clean (no junk food) 6 days a week
- Have 1 cheat meal per week
- Get 8 hours of sleep each night.
My dailies are a combination of tasks I need to accomplish or omit. Resolutions can be things that you choose not to do rather than things you need to do, or a healthy combination of both. I am confident that for 100 days I will be able to meet these expectations every day.
The second part of this process is to choose goals that are cumulative and need to be accomplished by the end of the 100 days. Here is my list of cumulative goals:
- Cycle or Peloton 1000kms
- Run/Jog 200 kms
- Hike 100kms
- Read 7 books
- Lose 30 lbs
- Shoot, edit, post 15 vlogs to youtube
- Invest $2500
These goals are much larger and require the full 100 days to accomplish. Progress towards them will need to be made each day, but I am certain that running every day will cause injury and failure to reach the set out goal. By accumulating progress over the 100 days I can still hit the target.
Although this is not a key principle to this challenge, I find it helpful to pick goals that help other goals to be achieved. For example, I want to lose 30lbs over the 100 days. Running, biking and eating healthy will all work towards achieving that goal. Adding in so much exercise will require a good amount of recovery time, so I have chosen to read 7 books and edit vlogs to occupy my downtime. Everything works together to help you stay on track. Boredom is the biggest enemy of progress. Keeping busy in a positive way will keep me on track.
Getting Started
Alright, I’ve got the principles, I’ve got the goals, now how do I get started? Normally, I would leave everything until January 1st and enjoy my last bit of freedom before starting this restrictive challenge. This year I am taking the week leading up to the new year to prepare. Get my mind, body, and lifestyle prepared to take on new challenges and trials.
I have started by making a game plan for each goal. I have mapped out when I will run, bike, read, etc, and for how long. I have prepared a meal plan, bought the groceries, and removed any holiday junk food. I have started sharing my plan with friends, family, and you so that I will have external accountability to stay on track.
In this situation Benjamin Franklin said it best “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail”.
Here are the steps I took to prepare:
- Write your list of dailies and cumulative goals
- Break each goal down into actions you can take everyday or every other day.
- Set up your surroundings to be able to execute these goals each day.
- Set up an accountability system to keep you on track.
- Take action – execute the first step of the first goal on January 1st.
Stay Tuned…
This journey will be long, challenging and rewarding. I am excited to see how things will unfold and to share it with you. Each week I will be posting a vlog with my progress, hardships and successes. I hope that you are able to take away something positive from this and use it in your one journey. Perhaps the J100 challenge will help you reach your goals and set the tone for the new year.
If you would like to help setting up your own J100 challenge or have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out by email or on social media!