A couple years ago I started reading about 30-day trials on various blogs. I’d have to say that Steve Pavlina does them better then anyone else I’ve read, but others do them too. I’ve tried a couple over the past two years, but this year I got serious about them.
In a 30-day trial you pick a behavior you want to change or a new habit you want to adopt and commit to doing that thing, or not doing it as the case may be, for 30 days. It can be anything, and you can set the rules however you want. It’s best if the task is measurable, like walking a mile each day or writing 1000 words a day. I allow myself a slip or two, but after that I either start over or revise the trial and begin again.
I just finished a 30-day trial of sewing for 15 minutes every day. It didn’t increase my overall sewing time much, but it did make me aware of all the time I waste. Before that I did a 30-day trial on meditating each day. That one snuck up on me. It was day 28 before I realized I was doing a trial.
I don’t expected overnight transformation in my life, but I do find these trials to be an effective way of shifting my life to include more of the things I want and less of the things I don’t want without stressing myself or trying to do it all at once.
I’ve decided to continue these trials throughout 2011. Today I’m starting a new 30-day trial of doing two things a day to improve my home, office or vehicle. Clutter in my home and office is a huge issue for me. I hate it.
How much I post about these trials depends on what they are and if I think the results would interest anyone. With New Year’s coming up, many of us identify changes we want to make in our lives. If you don’t like resolutions, maybe a 30-day trial would be just the thing to get you started in a new direction.
quiltpaintcreate 
I listened to a great book on tape about clutter. It is called “It’s All Too Much”. I did manage to get some areas cleaned out pretty well. He has a sort of mantra that you say to decide if something is worth keeping or not. It has to do with honoring the item. If you are keeping something put away somewhere, what is the honor in that? I also liked that he didn’t expect you to do a clean sweep the first time. Do the most you can and then expect you will be revisiting the things you declutter. I heard about it on a blog called “The Empress of Dirt” She has quite a nice story of how she made peace with her suroundings. Worth digging back through the blog for.