In this post I will describe how I set up a 30 day personal improvement experiment. I hope that when you see how easy it is you will be motivated to give it a try yourself.

Lightweight and sustainable

My aim with the Lifestyle Design Lab and my 30 day experiments is to make continuous small improvements in my life by trying new things and keeping what works.

Since I am not an ultra-motivated or energetic person I need to make sure that the process is as lightweight as possible. Otherwise I will not be able to sustain it.

Oh, and the experience has to be fun too!

The process

The process I use for my 30 day experiments is loosely based on the Deming Cycle of plan, do, check and act. Let’s take a look at each phase.

Plan

There are four steps in the Plan phase:

1. I shortlist and select an area of my life I would like to improve.
2. I drill down into the area and identify one specific behaviour or activity I would like to adopt, modify or cease.
3. I define criteria and measures (metrics) for success in the improvement.
4. I define one or more triggers that will remind me to stay on track and also to remind me to record my results and observations as the experiment progresses.

Do

In the Do phase I simply implement the behaviour or activity and record my results and observations. I try to consciously and actively stay on track throughout the 30 days. Carefully planned triggers can help with this.

Check

Once the 30 days is up I reflect on my experiences as follows:

1. I objectively review my results and observations and compare them against my defined success criteria.
2. I subjectively reflect on the experience. Did the change “work for me?” Did it feel like an improvement? Was it easy or hard? Did I sustain the change for the entire 30 days or were there times when it slipped?

Act

Once I have reflected on the outcomes of the experiment it is time to make a decision on what to do next. There are 3 broad options:

1. Keep it. Sustain the change in my life. Continue to use the same trigger points as long as necessary until the change becomes a strong habit.
2. Drop it. Do not pursue the change any further.
3. Tweak it. Design a new 30 day experiment that builds off this experience.

There you have it. It is amazingly simple and amazingly powerful.

In the next post I will go through a specific example to show you what an experiment might look like. I will also talk more about the types of improvements that work well in 30 day experiments, and how to set up the all-important triggers.

All the best,

Nathan Curtis

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