[See the first part here to get an overview of the challenge.](Re-invent your life in 3 months (starting now))
Month 1: Discipline
It’s time for month one, a month of discipline!
In the original four-month challenge, Cal recommends two weeks for this part, but by extending this part to a month, we get to build a really solid foundation that will set us up for success later in the challenge.
Think of it as cranking up the difficulty a little bit at the start, to make it easier on ourselves in the long run.
So, this month we have three key objectives:
- Build a core place to keep everything relating to this challenge.
- Commit to three keystone habits/routines.
- Engage in a digital detox & dopamine reset.
1. Core Notebook
Cal recommends creating a core place to keep everything, which is easy enough. You just have to choose an app, a notebook, a folder, etc., where you want to keep everything. It doesn’t have to be perfect, and it doesn’t need to be permanent.
One of the best options here is a physical notebook. If you have something already lying around, perfect. Otherwise, you can get a $10 hardcover notebook at Walmart or Amazon, or even use a pocket journal.
Alternatively, a digital tool will be fine—whatever tool you’re partial to. Notion is great because it lets you build different dashboards, like having a habit tracker and your core documents side by side. But you’ll get bonus points if you use local files, like Obsidian or plain .txt files to track your progress.
Personally, I’m going a bit of a middle route and using an e-ink note-taking device, my Supernote Nomad. This way I can keep all of my journaling, planning, and core documents on the same device, but use separate notebooks within it. With it, I get all of the perks of digital (note backups, moving around text, etc.) while still keeping my setup handwritten and LCD/LED-free.
Whichever you choose, it’s no big deal. Choose something you’re familiar with, and go for it. If you want to change it after three months (or even in the middle of the challenge), you totally can.
2. Habits/Routines
For keystone habits, Cal recommends choosing three non-trivial habits to stick to. This will be the start of a 90-day challenge to stick to these every day.
For me, my plan is to:
- Do 2 hours of deep work at work.
- I feel a lot better about my day when I’m able to set aside at least a little time for undistracted, focused work, away from the hectic busyness of trying to stay on top of emails, Slack messages, etc.
- This will come in the form of four Pomodoro sessions each workday.
- 30-minute daily writing block.
- I want to make time for my writing, whether it’s for YouTube videos/essays, newsletters, or notes on what I’m reading.
- This will be a time-based habit, where I want to dedicate 30 minutes daily.
- Meditate daily.
- This is something I’ve always wanted to stick with but just never managed to.
- For this one, I just want to check the box each day, even if it’s just five minutes.
- Study Japanese.
- We’re planning a trip next year, and I would really love to have some basic knowledge just in case.
- I’m starting by focusing on vocab, learning ten words each day in Anki. If all goes well, I should have almost 1,000 words in review by the end of this challenge!
If you’re looking for more inspiration, you could break this down by:
- Career, Personal (Projects/Hobbies), Self (Reflection/Spirituality)
- Work, Mind, Body
- Hobbies, Learning, Reflection
3. Digital Detox & Dopamine Reset
We have an extra two weeks to really nail down this discipline block, so to enhance it, we’re throwing in a digital detox.
This initially makes it a lot harder, but in the long run, it’s going to help tenfold. Not only will we have more time to actually do the habits above, but it’s also going to help us reset our dopamine circuitry and undo the need to be constantly wired into our devices.
That means if you’re engaging in non-digitally addictive things like drugs, alcohol, or sneaking playboys while your wife is asleep, you’re going to be totally undermining the work you’re doing here.
Content consumption
Overall, I’d recommend avoiding online content consumption as much as possible and prioritizing reading books. Personally, I really like listening to Cal Newport’s podcast each week, so I’ll be continuing that. In terms of video content, I previously purchased the “Healthy Gamer’s Guide to…” series, so if I really need something to consume, that’s where I’ll go.
Try to avoid always having content playing while doing something, especially if you need to be engaged. No listening to podcasts in the background while you’re trying to create a report at work. Try to give your brain some space during this reset, during things like doing the dishes, going for walks, exercising, etc. Prioritize music over content if you really need something playing during those activities.
Think for yourself, what content really enhances my life, that I’d like to spend more time with? How can I dedicate time to only engage with that content, then reflect and take action?
Tiers of engagement
There’s a few different tiers of engaging with technology that we can lay out, so you can choose what level of engagement you want to have with each.
Tier 1: Endless searching & reward
This includes:
- Algorithmic feeds: social media, porn, live streaming platforms, youtube, etc.
- Bingeable content: video games (specifically multiplayer, infinite queue) and TV shows
How to engage:
I’d recommend completely avoiding this tier. If there’s a part that you really care about, then you need to put a time limitation on it, or find a way to block the worst parts.
For instance, if there’s a Youtube series that posts weekly that you really get a lot of value out of, bookmark the playlist or feed of that channel alone, and only engage with that on your desktop (not mobile device). In this case, you can also add the “Unhook” extension to your browser to hide recommended videos.
What to do Instead:
For entertainment, your #1 default should be to read books. Alternatively, watch movies or play story-based games within a set time. If you really value a longer-running, bingeable show, then just put it within time bounds (I’ll watch 4 eps. after working out).
Tier 2: Refreshes
This includes:
- Any platform that you’re constantly checking—“is there anything new??”
- Email, youtube subscriptions, specific subreddits, podcast feeds, news feeds, houses (when you’re not in the market), expired domains (if you’re a freak like me), marketplaces where people are posting things for sale…
How to engage: I’d recommend completely cutting out social media refresh feeds if it’s not essential to you. If you get a lot of value out of it, then set aside a block of time (try 30 minutes) to just see what’s new. You want to greatly consolidate, if not totally remove this as well.
For email, I’d recommend checking personal email for newsletters you want to save, bills you get, and personal contacts to just once per day. Schedule it on your calendar!
Otherwise, remove as much as possible from this.
Tier 3: Non-essential internet use
This includes:
Web browsing, looking stuff up, online shopping, general pursuit of distracting thoughts (“I wonder…”)
How to engage:
Write all of these down in a specific journal, notebook, or task manager, and have a set time (ex. 4:30–5 p.m.) to engage with the things you care about.
Most of the time, when you write something down and set it aside for later, you’ll lose interest in it anyway. You want to try to avoid going down rabbit holes during your day-to-day, and if need be, consolidate it as much as possible.
For facts that would be useful to know now, try using a voice assistant (Alexa, Siri, Google) to get your answer (ex. what the weather will be, how many teaspoons in a tablespoon, etc.) instead of picking up your phone/web browser and getting distracted.
If this doesn’t work, engage directly with google.com (instead of the Google app [where Google Discover is]) or with a chatbot like the ChatGPT app.