Counting the days

We’re 13 days into Just 99 Days.

At least that’s the marker for those who began on our official start date of January 2. Several eager people started on January 1 and are a day ahead. Still more have hopped aboard in the past two weeks.

Part of me is better off not counting the days. I just keep doing what I need to do, one day at a time, without obsessing about a number or even glancing at the finish line. Babies take their first steps long before they learn to count. The joy is in toddling along upright, not calculating the distance to Mama’s outstretched hands.

But that’s just part of me.

Progress (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Another part is conditioned to track progress as I inch closer to the goal. The status bar gradually fills. The digits advance toward the magic number. The little mountain climber nears the peak.

If you take comfort in numbers, you might like to try “Bean”—a counting app for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. You can track as many as nine different things on a simple, colorful grid. In addition to counting Just 99 Days, imagine what you could count. Home-cooked meals in a month, hours of screen time, glasses of water consumed in a day, VWs on a road trip …

What’s something you might enjoy counting?

We didn’t just get an idea, we got going

“No matter the good intentions, most people can’t change unless their goal is short-term, measurable, compelling, monitored, supported, planned out, and reinforced over time. This takes work and discipline, which is far beyond just making a statement about doing something differently.”

That’s wisdom from Ron Ashkenas, a writer and consultant I follow on the Harvard Business Review Blog Network. He goes on to explain how to Jump-Start Your Company Goals, with two primary action steps:

1. Ask what shift would make the greatest difference—either for the organization for an individual.
2. Get going with a “rapid-cycle, high-energy innovation process.”

The point is not just to get ideas, but to get going. Whether you’re interested in corporate goal-setting or not, this is a useful principle for anyone who wants to reach a goal.

In Just 99 Days, we’re focusing on small actions every day. Your goal may be to become more fit, more peaceful, more well-read, more organized … Whatever it is, you’re already on your way. You’ve invested one whole week of intentional, daily action. Well done!

How does that feel?

Early observations after three days of book-reading

Still more commitments have come in. A few more people are exercising. Several are organizing one small item, area, or project each day. A couple of creatives are playing with clay and practicing piano. And one wonderful soul has offered to support and pray for the rest of us for the duration!

My own discipline between now and April 10 (that’s the finish line, for those who started on January 2) is to read actual books—the paper kind, with pages I can touch and turn. Here are some early observations:

1. My husband gave me a daybook of writings by C. S. Lewis for Christmas. I’m keeping this by my bed. Right when I wake up, I read the day’s page. It’s an easy win, and it takes the pressure off for the rest of the day. (I almost wonder if I should re-read the page at night, because Mr. Lewis may be far more intellectual than I am capable of processing when my eyes are still half-full of sleep.)
2. Knowing that I “must” read each day is not stealing any joy from reading. In fact, I’m suddenly reading more books at once than I have in a long time: the daybook, a memoir, a book on writing, some poetry, a parody on parenting. I’m luxuriating in all these choices … and all these pages!
3. To help ensure my own success, I’m keeping books all over the place. In addition to the usual stack on my nightstand, I have a book in the car, one on the coffee table, one in my purse, and a couple on my desk. Today in the kitchen I noticed a cookbook on the counter. In a pinch, I could “count” that sort of book-reading, too, I suppose.
4. I had hoped reading time might become part of my family’s daily routine. Imagine the bliss: two parents and three to six children (depending on the day) all snuggled up in their respective comfy places, soaking up fine literature. Alas, my daily practice does not seem to be rubbing off, thus far. I will keep hoping …

If you are so inclined, respond to this post with your own early observations. What have you noticed so far?

38 unique commitments for just 99 days

Day One is drawing to a close. Thirty-eight adventurous souls have begun to meet their own, unique, 99-day commitments. Check out the creative and courageous variety in these choices:

1. Amy: be still
2. Angel: work out
3. Beth: read hard copy books (as opposed to e-books and blogs)
4. Brian: write non-fiction
5. Caitlin: do yoga
6. Chris: exercise one hour per day
7. Donna: write 2 thank you notes, one to husband and one to someone else; organize/sort/clean a place; spend 1 hour creating something; spend 1 hour in purposeful moving; let go of something
8. Ellen: create some kind of art
9. Emily: journal
10. Emily: make the bed
11. Emma: write songs
12. Gina: walk dogs
13. Hannah: try new things
14. Isaac: capture an image
15. Janet: work on building a business
16. Jeff: eat breakfast
17. Jen: read a chapter of a book, write something, take a print-worthy photo
18. Jill: journal
19. Jim: make healthy choices
20. Jodi: build a discipline and start a hobby
21. Joe: write a koan or haiku
22. Kathleen: exercise
23. Kimberly: exercise and put a happy thought in a jar
24. Kristen: read
25. Naomi: practice piano scales
26. Ned: take a photo of the same view at the same time
27. Norma: capture an image
28. Pattie: write in a gratitude journal
29. Peggy: commit a random acts of kindness
30. Rachel: meditate
31. Sarah: journal
32. Scott: exercise
33. Shamali: send a postcard
34. Sherry: meditate and write in a gratitude journal
35. Sommer: eat vegan
36. Tricia: exercise
37. Trish: do yoga each morning and run each evening
38. Vann: read

Even if you begin tomorrow, it is not too late! If you decide to participate, please let us know what you choose to pursue. We’ll use this blog, the Just 99 Days Facebook page, and Twitter (@just99days) to discuss progress, lament lapses, and encourage each other along the way. Or, if you prefer, you can communicate directly with just99days via email.

If you’ve decided to participate and don’t see your name and commitment on this list, please let us know!

The journey is on!

Today is the day

Just 99 Days has begun! I am assembling a list of people and their commitments. If you have decided to participate, please let me know what you’re planning to do each day. Thanks!

Ideas to get you thinking

When I ask people what they would do for Just 99 Days, the most common response is, “Hmm, I’d have to think about that.” If that’s your sense as well, I hope your wheels are turning, because Day One is this Wednesday!

If you need inspiration, the word cloud above offers a few ideas (click image to enlarge). Here’s that list, plus a few more:

• Blog
• Call someone you love
• Clean
• Compliment someone
• Draw a picture
• Drink eight glasses of water
• Eat an apple
• Eat breakfast
• Eat healthy
• Enjoy a family meal
• Floss
• Go to bed at 10 pm
• Journal
• Learn five foreign words or phrases
• Lift weights
• Listen to a podcast
• Make love
• Make your bed
• Meditate
• Memorize a verse or poem
• Organize something
• Play an instrument
• Practice yoga
• Pray
• Prepare a new recipe
• Read fiction
• Ride a bike
• Run
• Scrapbook
• Send a thank you note
• Swim
• Take a photo
• Talk to a stranger
• Travel a new route
• Try a new food
• Wake early
• Walk
• Watch a TED talk
• Watch the news
• Watch the sunrise
• Work a crossword puzzle
• Write a letter

Which of these ideas strike you as fun and possible?

Lasting results, beyond the 99th day

The commitments continue to surface, with 13 days between now and the January 2 start of “Just 99 Days.” This week a dear friend emailed to share her plan:

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OK, here’s my 99-day plan/commitment: Write in a gratitude journal daily. It’s simple and concise and my hope is that it will boost my level of happiness and contentment.

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You know what? I am certain this daily practice will boost her level of happiness and contentment. Even just pausing to think a grateful thought each day would do many of us a world of good. Somehow, adding physical action—writing and collecting those ideas in a journal—adds a lot of “oomph.”

What’s more, even when the 99 days are over, my friend will have page after page of comforting words to keep and hold and treasure. Her simple, daily action will produce lasting results.

Imagine that 100th day. What will you keep and hold and treasure as a result of your 99-day journey?

A writing student commits

Just a few minutes ago, this email popped into my inbox, from a student who recently completed the business writing course I teach:

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I’m planning to follow your lead and dedicate myself to writing non-nonfiction for the first 99 days of 2013. It’s something I have been putting off for far too long, and now that a perfect opportunity (and a perfect accountability guru!) presents itself (/herself), I can’t resist. Each day, I will work on a short story, poem, or play. The goal will not be to complete each project in a day; rather, the goal will be to finish one or more of each type of writing by the end of the 99 days. I haven’t decided how I will report my progress. Will it be only to you, or will I broadcast my successes more broadly via a blog? Will I also write commentary about the writing process as I move forward, or will I eschew that and focus only on the writing itself? Will I set a time goal for each day’s writing, or will I let the tasks of the day dictate how much time I have to spend on writing for pleasure?

Time will tell; I have a few weeks to decide. But one thing’s for certain: I’m grateful to you for inspiring me to pursue this project.

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You can imagine my excitement. This is on top of friends, relatives, and students who have embraced Just 99 Days with the following ideas:

• 99 days of bed making
• 99 days of creating imagery (sketches, photos, etc.) as fodder for future art projects
• 99 days of exercise
• 99 days of meditation
• 99 days of healthier choices
• 99 days of writing letters
• 99 days of playing the piano

Let’s add to the list. Even if it’s not something YOU would do, what discipline or play could you imagine someone undertaking for Just 99 Days?