I recently revisited a favorite TED talk of mine – it’s about giving something new a shot for 30 days and the power of repetition in forming new habits (and ditching bad habits). Given how busy we all are, 30 days can feel like forever and it’s all too easy to come up with an excuse or let life throw us off track, but this idea of sticking to something for a month straight is so inspiring for me. It’s about challenging yourself and making something happen for yourself that’s been on your “one day I’ll…” list.

For me, I’ve been thinking a lot about which habits I have at the moment – good and bad – and which habits I’d love to have in my daily routine. Eating healthy. Exercising a lot more. Making my bed every morning. Sending more handwritten letters & thank you notes. Spending more time not glued to my iPhone.

The list could go and on and on and I think this is where we set ourselves up for failure – we want to do it all and check everything off that list. We can get a bit too over ambitious and when we combine all of these new habits, they become totally overwhelming. Instead of simple changes for 30 days, we expect everything to change instantly.

I’m going to be spending some time over the weekend making a smaller list of new habits I’d like to add and focus on for the next month – simplifying things and starting with a few new habits instead of drastic change. Once this list is complete I’ll make sure it’s posted somewhere that I’ll be very aware of it as a reminder for the next 30 days. After that, it becomes a bit of a 30 day challenge. No excuses. Recognizing the value of repetition. Letting time form habits.

Have you ever taken steps to form new habits? What are some things you’d like to work on over 30 days? Do you have any favorite TED videos?