As a blogger I am constantly looking for a good challenge. I’ve tried my hand at Ember Grey’s 12 months of bliss challenge and Erin’s reading challenge and Jenn’s movie challenge. I watched Laura and Chelsea torture themselves with the Whole 30 and my friend Kayla brave her way through the 21 Day Fix. It seems like we’re always on the lookout for some way to better ourselves or experience more- especially via challenge.
Right now I’m working on a few challenges- some that last several months, others that span the year, and a few that I attempted for a week. If you’re in the market to challenge yourself, start with one of these:
Water Challenge
I am terrible about drinking water. I go days without it. I love coffee and tea and some pop, but I rarely finish 1 glass of water, let alone 8. So this week I challenged myself to only drink water. No coffee. No wine. No nothing- except water. This is probably dumb, but it’s effective.
Skin Challenge
In the same breathe, this week I decided to skip the make-up. I have been wear foundation and powder forever… my acne and scars are a real b*tch. But this week I decided to skip it and let my face have a break & heal. I’ve felt very self-conscious all week, but my skin has seen some minor improvements. #WorthIt
Book Challenge
I’m always doing a book challenge because it motivates me to turn off the TV and read. Right now I’m doing this challenge until April and I’m tackling this one all through 2016. My goal is to read 42 books this year!
Movie Challenge
I don’t know of any going on right now, but in fall I did this film challenge and under my 30 x 30 tab I have a goal to watch all the Academy Award winning movies from the year I was born (1990).
Eating Challenge
I hate diets. I would rather hit the gym 7 days a week than restrict myself from eating certain foods. (And that’s saying something because I hate working out.) But challenging yourself to forgo pop or give up fast food for a month is definitely do-able and beneficial. Start small if you’re like me and you hate wheat bread.
The Whole 30
Then again, if you really want to throw yourself down the rabbit hole & experience crazyland wonderland, try The Whole 30. I believe the rules are no sugar, no dairy, no grains, no beans, no alcohol, and no cheating. All of that means no Audrey… but maybe it’s something you’d like to try!
Meatless Mondays
Another food challenge… This is something I’d like to try. Honestly, I think K and I wouldn’t even notice one meatless day a week… the only problem is I lose track of the days and forget when Monday comes around. #oops
Exercise Challenge
Let me reiterate: I hate working out. That said, K has been pretty vocal about joining a gym together and waking up early to work out in the mornings. I’m much more successful when I have some challenge or routine to follow, so I guess I’ll be pinning a few new exercise tips and tricks to this board.
Money Challenge
Have you seen those charts that build your savings account by telling you to put back a dollar, then two dollar, than five dollars, etc. every week? I’ve never tried one of these with success, but I’d like to!
Organization Challenge
I love organizing my space, but Stephanie is a BEAST at organization. She’s taking 2016 by storm. From decluttering to minimalism, she’s got you covered. I love the idea of tackling large parts of your house each month- I feel so much better when I wash the couch cushion slips or the window treatments.
What types of challenges are your drawn to? Have you ever participated in any of these? What new challenges would you recommend?
I love doing challenges through my blog- I think it keeps me honest and accountable. What about you?
Life as Louise 
These are great! Good luck with all your challenges!
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Thanks, Christine! I realized this weekend we’re halfway through Feb. and I haven’t finished a book this month! Ahh!
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I did the Step it Up challenge one month where you had to hit over 10,000 steps every day for a month – it was truly a challenge but I did it – was so proud of myself 🙂
My husband is doing the money challenge – so far, he’s doing well in it. Me? I spend too much to do it 🙂 haha
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I’ve tried the money challenge, but once it gets to a certain amount I always fall off the wagon!! Haha!
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Aw thanks for the mention 🙂 I love challenges! I definitely feel good about everything i got rid of so far. I’m dieting now, I’m opposite of you – I hate everything about working out, I’d rather not eat for days or totally give up all the bad foods if it means I never have to exercise again in my life. Which I know isn’t possible because exercise is good for you. But I hate it.
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UGH. I’m not really a fan of dieting OR exercising… it’s just the lesser of two evils 😀
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these are awesome ideas!! my husband and i will randomly do some type of 50 day challenge and it really is amazing to see how much you learn/gain from challenges! glad you are doing some yourself and yay water! i never used to drink much water and now i’ve gotten in the habit of always having a cup of water and now i feel gross when i don’t drink enough of it!
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That’s a great idea! I went from Monday morning to Friday night only drinking water. Wednesday was the hardest day but once I was past that it was smooth sailing! I actually felt kind of yucky once I broke my “fast” and had some wine!
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I never drink water, either, and my doctors are constantly yelling at me about it. Evidently it’s important or something. My ongoing challenge is to read a book every single week. It’s been going well so far!
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Hahaha, I don’t blame you. And once I ONLY started drinking water is was t.o.r.t.u.r.e. Reading a book a week is a great challenge! That’d be tough me for, lol!
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I’ve scoffed at Whole 30 for years, but lately I’ve been considering. So many people have had so many good results! I might….I might…
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I’ve seen people have amazing results…. but I just can’t do it. I’m sure i COULD do it… but I refuse. Haha. If you DO decide to do it, good luck!!
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oh my lord. when you said water challenge, I was immediately like, wow, I have only drank one glass of water today. I now have another in front of me so thank you! here’s hoping you succeed at your challenges!
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Right? I NEVER drink water so I was like, “Ok, this week, when I’m craving pop or tea or coffee, I’m going to refill my water bottle and stick to it.” It didn’t get easy-ish until Thursday night. HA!
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I’m doing a money saving challenge! It’s the one where you put in $0.01 cent in on the first day of the year, $0.02 the next and you keep working your way up, so the last day of this year you put $3.66 in. It only saves you like $700 in the end, but it feels painless, for the most part. But I’ve been cheating and doing whole months at a time (I put it in a spreadsheet with each month on its own tab and totalled the amounts) because I am not going to go each day and do that amount… Way too much work! Haha.
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Oh I’d total cheat, lol. I tried one of those where you start at $1, but once it got to $75I was like… um…. too much. Ha!
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I have a love-hate relationship with challenges. I love starting them but when I ultimately don’t accomplish the goal I feel crappy so I’ve stopped even doing reading challenges because I hate that feeling of failure(even if looking back it’s not THAT big of a deal not to accomplish your goal).
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Oh no! You should definitely avoid challenges if they make you feel bad!! I set very, very low expectations.. ha. Such as, ‘I will finish at least ONE book for this challenge.’ Haha! That’s probably not how challenges are suppose to work…. Ha!
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A lot of the time I HAVE to keep myself publicly accountable to complete challenges!
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Me, too. When I KNOW that I have to share with the world that I failed at reading any books it makes me at least finish one or two, haha!
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You are impressive! So many challenges and all that will benefit you in some way, shape, or form. I envy your ability to stick with them. I start out with gusto yet fade.
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I’m definitely not doing ALL these challenges, lol. And I tend to fade sometimes, too. But they do help keep my accountable, so that’s a big plus in the grand scheme of things 🙂
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I totally agree with you on the food thing! I hate working out, but I’d rather work my butt off than restrict myself from delicious foods. Sadly, I’ve been trying to do both. It’s not fun.
I love challenges as well! I’m doing a reading and movie challenge (just ones that I made up). I also did the fall film challenge last year and barely finished it!
Stephanie really is a beast at organizing. I am really in awe of how much she has decluttered. I just can’t part with some of my things… even if they do sit on a shelf untouched for years.
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