100-Day-Challenge Project Design Guidelines
The selection and design of your challenge project is key to its success. Please use the following suggestions to help you craft the most inspiring - and accomplishable - project possible.
The following are from Thomas Leonard's original notes for the 2001 CoachVille Challenge:
1. Select a goal/project that is somewhat disruptive to your routine.
My project is 100 hikes in 100 days. That is disruptive to my schedule, believe me. It's going to mean that I orient my day around this focus. That's a good thing. I am working too hard and I need something to break up my current compulsive routine.
2. Make this an actions-project, not a results-project.
I could have called and packaged my projects as the "lose 30 pounds" project, given that is one of the most important outcomes for me. But one of the reasons that I packaged this as a hike is because a hike is action-oriented. I can control and manage that; I cannot control or manage 30 pounds of weight loss.
3. Select a project that integrates other parts of your life or priorities.
I selected the hike because I wanted to integrate something fun and different, vs. just going to the gym. I can hike, get exercise, see new areas, take cool photos for my website, meet interesting people and commune with nature. That's integration.
4. Select a goal that catalyzes or stimulates other changes/improvements.
When I start hiking, it will cause me to eat better foods because I will need cleaner, more sustainable sources of energy.
5. Select actions that you can double up on in a given day.
I expect on some days I won't be able to hike. Either I've got a full work day, or I'll be on the road, or the weather will suck or I won't be in the mood. So, I've not said I have to do a hike every day for 100 days; just 100 hikes in 100 days. I expect that I'll do 2 hikes on some days. That allows me to still succeed with this project, even if life and reality gets in the way.
6. Make the actions measurable enough.
100 hikes in 100 days is pretty clear, but I'm going a step further in defining what qualifies as a hike. Is it a walk around the block? A trek up Mt. Everest? For the purposes of this project, it is two hours hiking/walking on a trail. If no trail is available, I can jog or ride my bike, but the commitment is to hike, not to jog or bike ride.
7. Select actions that are not conditional on someone else.
Make sure your actions don't rely much on anyone else in order for the action to be accomplished. Obviously, 100 clients in 100 days would be a setup for failure for most people, but adding 100 people to your Team 100 network is doable, even if it does rely upon folks agreeing to be in your network. Even if some refuse, you really can pull this one off as long as you are willing to get on the phone and network.
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What is YOUR 100 Day challenge? What is something challenging, creative, and fun that you could do every day for 100 days that would rock your world (at least a little bit) and add value to the lives of others?