Here’s the thing about habits: Bad habits are so easy to start and so hard to break. But good habits are so hard to start and so easy to break.

Strange, huh.

For several months now, I’ve been trying to incorporate the habit of waking up earlier. But truthfully, I haven’t been doing well with it. That’s mostly because I end up hitting the snooze button and sleeping in longer than I should (I’m not the only one right?).

So when I saw that Caylee was starting a 30-day habit challenge (accompanied with her official Habit planner printable set), I decided that it was the perfect time to actually make this habit a reality. Plus, I totally appreciate having a community and the support and accountability that comes with it.

I originally planned to start on November 1 and continue all month long. But I really needed the extra sleep this past weekend so I wasn’t able to get up as early as I would’ve liked.

So instead, I used Monday (yesterday) as my Day Zero and Tuesday (today) as my Day One. This means that the thirty days will go a little into December, but I don’t mind. I figured it was better to start on a strong note, instead of feeling defeated right from the start.

Inspired by Caylee, I worked through Tiago Forte’s Design Your Habit course on Skillshare and came up with my specific plan on Day Zero.

My plan of action for the next thirty days is based on Tiago Forte’s 11 milestones, which he covers in the course:

PLAN OF ACTION

• Identify my new keystone habit

My habit is to wake up earlier. For me, I’m working towards waking up before 8am during the first week, and then adjusting the time so I wake up before 7am before the month is over.

• Choose an existing anchor habit as your new trigger

After I hear my alarm, I will get out of bed.

• Choose a reward for completing your habit

I get to cross the day off my tracker when I successfully complete my habit for the day.

• Choose a reminder

My primary phone alarm will ring at 7am, and again at 7.15am.

• State your implementation intentions

When I hear my morning alarm, I will wake up and get out of bed because I believe that waking up early helps me to be productive during the day and be a good steward of the time I have been given.

• Make your habit easy to start by identifying your small wins

1. Get out of bed immediately
2. Snooze once
3. Wake up before 8am
4. Wake up and read
5. Put my feet on the floor

• Identify your loopholes and closers

“I didn’t have enough sleep last night and I’m too tired.” – Sleeping in and waking up late makes me go to bed late, which leads to a vicious cycle for my habit.

“I missed my alarm. Just five more minutes.” – I have lots to do today; the earlier I wake up, the more time I have to complete my work and get things done, instead of wasting time in bed.

• Modify your environment

I place my phone across the room so I have to physically get out of bed to turn off the alarm.

• Choose a habit tracking approach and tool

I am recording and tracking my habit in my Pretty Organized Habit planner.

• Select an accountability system

Caylee is my accountability partner and I’ll be checking in with her during the challenge.

• Evaluate your results

At the end of the challenge, I’ll blog about it with updates!

I think this could be the best thirty days yet, and I’m excited to see how this next month will go.

Let’s do this.