A month is a good size for a challenge. It’s long enough to feel a real change and short enough to start without a long negotiation with yourself. It also fits the calendar: start on the first, finish on the thirtieth, and the whole thing fits on one page.
Below are ideas for a 30-day habit challenge, a plan that keeps it simple, and what to do on day 31, which matters more than most challenges admit.
Is 30 days enough to form a habit?
Often not completely, and that’s fine. In a 2010 study at University College London, Phillippa Lally and her colleagues found that a new daily behavior took a median of 66 days to become as automatic as it was going to get, with a range from 18 to 254 days. A 2024 review by Singh and colleagues found medians of 59 to 66 days across the studies that measured it.
The same research has good news for a 30-day challenge: automaticity grows fastest at the beginning and then levels off. Thirty days covers the steepest part of the climb. You won’t finish the habit in a month, but you’ll do most of the hard work.
How to plan your 30-day challenge
- Pick one habit. One challenge at a time; a second one can start next month.
- Tie it to a cue. Write it as a sentence: “After I get home, I put on my running shoes.” The cue is something that already happens every day.
- Set a minimum. Decide the smallest version that still counts, for sick days, late nights and travel: two minutes, one page, one push-up.
- Track it where you’ll see it. A calendar on the fridge or a habit tracker on your phone. Mark the day right after you do it.
- Plan for misses. A missed day doesn’t reset the challenge. Just never miss two days in a row.
- Decide day 31 now. The challenge ends, the habit shouldn’t. More on that below.
30-day habit challenge ideas
Pick the one that would make the biggest difference this month, not the most impressive one.
Body
- Walk for 10 minutes after lunch.
- Drink a glass of water first thing in the morning.
- Stretch for 5 minutes before bed.
- Eat one portion of vegetables at dinner.
- Be in bed by 11 p.m.
- Do 10 squats while the kettle boils.
Mind
- Read 10 pages a day.
- Write one line in a journal.
- Meditate for 5 minutes.
- No phone for the first 30 minutes after waking up.
- Learn 10 words in a new language.
Home
- Tidy for 10 minutes before bed.
- Make the bed every morning.
- Leave the sink empty at night.
Money
- Write down every purchase that day.
- Pack lunch on workdays.
- Put a small fixed amount aside.
People and creativity
- Send one message to someone you miss.
- Draw one small sketch.
- Write 100 words.
- Practice an instrument for 10 minutes.
What to do on day 31
The most common way a 30-day challenge fails is that it succeeds: the month ends, the streak is complete, and the habit stops with it. Pick one of three endings before you start:
- Keep going with a new goal. Extend it to 66 days, the median from Lally’s study (our 66-day habit challenge explains that number), or to 100.
- Keep the minimum. If the full version was a stretch, keep only the smallest version as the everyday habit.
- Stop on purpose. Some challenges are experiments. If it didn’t add anything, end it and choose the next one deliberately.
Questions people ask
What is a good 30-day challenge for beginners?
Something small, daily and tied to a cue you already have: a glass of water with breakfast, 10 pages before bed, a 10-minute walk after lunch. Small habits survive the bad days that every month contains.
Can I do two 30-day challenges at once?
You can, but your odds are better with one. Every new habit needs attention at the start, and attention is limited. See how many habits to build at once before you stack challenges.
What if I miss a day in my 30-day challenge?
Do it the next day and keep the count going. One missed day doesn’t undo the weeks before it. Missing two days in a row is where challenges usually end, so make the next day your priority.
Run your challenge in Ripply
Ripply is a habit tracker for iPhone and Apple Watch where each habit has its own goal, from 7 to 100 days, including 30. Every day you mark it, a drop falls and the water rises toward the goal, so you can see exactly how much of the month is behind you.
For every full week without a miss you earn a streak freeze, so one bad day doesn’t end the challenge. When day 30 comes, raise the goal and keep the water rising. Ripply is free to download, with no subscription, no account and no ads.
Ripply
A free habit tracker for iPhone and Apple Watch. Set a goal of 7 to 100 days, mark each day in a second, and keep your streak with freezes.
More about Ripply →