We all have goals we want to accomplish and areas in our lives we desire growth. However, lasting transformation rarely happens overnight – adopting new stick behaviors takes consistency and time. That’s why a two-month time frame is ideal for embracing habits that can positively impact your life.
By focusing on just eight critical habits over the next 60 days, you can set yourself up for success after success. Little by little, small wins in each area will compound and completely change the way you approach your days. It won’t always be easy, but adopting one of these habits can create a positive ripple effect.
Ready to take on the challenge and change your life? Here are eight powerful habits to adopt day in and day out over the next two months.
Understanding Habits
Habits are routines or behaviors you perform automatically without much active thinking. An estimated 40% of our daily actions are driven by subconscious habitual cues rather than conscious decisions.
The key to forming habits is the “habit loop,” the cue, routine action, and reward system that reinforces a habit until it sticks. By focusing on this loop, you can adopt new habits more easily.
Since habits take an average of 66 days to cement, the two-month challenge time frame creates an ideal period for overcoming obstacles, building self-discipline, and seeing results that will motivate you to maintain habits for the long term.
Habit 1: Early Rising
Waking up early allows you to take advantage of each day’s fresh, energizing beginnings. The habits and routines you flow through first thing in the morning ripple throughout your day.
To become an early riser, readjust your sleep schedule 15-30 minutes at a time. Place your alarm clock far enough away that you have to get up physically. Have a motivating reason “why” locked into your psyche. Do enjoyable activities like reading, exercising, or meditation first thing rather than jumping into work.
Over time, if you feel tired earlier at night, don’t fight it – support your body’s natural sleep-wake cycle. The key is consistency – stick to the same wakeup time every day, even on weekends, to lock in the habit.
Example: Amanda is a night owl who struggles with morning grogginess. She wants to consistently wake up at 5:30 a.m. to exercise before her kids wake up. She sets the alarm 15 minutes earlier each week until she reaches her goal of wakeup time. She places her phone alarm across the room and adds motivational quotes to her walls. She begins her mornings with stretching, writing in her gratitude journal, and making a nutritious breakfast. After a month, she finds waking up early energizing.
Habit 2: Daily Exercise
Regular exercise provides extensive physical, mental, and emotional health benefits. Moving your body daily, even with light activities like walking, can reduce your risk for chronic diseases, improve focus and sleep, and release feel-good endorphins.
Aim for a combination of cardio, strength training, flexibility exercises, and leisure activities 30-60 mins daily. To stay motivated, join online fitness groups for encouragement, schedule exercise like any other appointment, create playlists of your favorite tunes, and track your progress with apps.
Example: Nick has a sedentary desk job and struggles with lower back pain. His goal is to incorporate stretching and bodyweight training daily. He joins an online accountability group to receive support and ideas. He schedules morning dance sessions and evening bodyweight circuits and sticks to them like essential meetings. After several weeks, his back felt more muscular, he had more stamina, and he noticed a better posture.
Habit 3: Mindful Eating
Mindful eating means paying close attention to the experience, sight, smell, sounds, textures, and taste of food and drink rather than mindlessly rushing through meals. Research shows mindful eating supports weight loss, reduces impulsive eating, and improves digestion.
To get started, sit down without distractions, take small bites, chew thoroughly, put down utensils between bites, and tune into how your food looks, smells, sounds, and tastes. Pause briefly before eating to appreciate aromas and calm your nerves for social situations. Celebrate nourishing your body.
Example: Sara often eats lunch at her desk while working and prepares snacks in front of the TV. She wants to improve her eating habits and relationship with food. She begins sitting at the table without screens, putting her phone in another room, playing calming music, lighting a candle, and saying gratitude before meals. She notices feeling more satisfied, less stressed while eating, and more intentional with food choices.
Habit 4: Daily Learning
Learning something new every day stimulates neural connections, boosts confidence, exposes you to new ideas and skills, keeps your mind engaged, and sets an example for others around the value of continuous education.
Make learning fun by exploring subjects you’re curious about through books, online courses, documentaries, museums, cultural centers, classes, podcasts, and more for at least 3060 minutes daily. Identify obstacles like fatigue or lack of time and intentionally schedule learning activities when you have the most energy.
Example: James wants to continue growing his knowledge but struggles to make time for learning amidst his busy job and family life. He starts listening to educational podcasts during his commute. On the weekends, he blocks off time to take free online courses related to his hobbies, photography, and gardening. He also takes his daughter to the library every two weeks to explore new books together. After several months, he feels more well-rounded and that his mind is more active.
Habit 5: Meditation and Mindfulness
Mindfulness means purposefully bringing awareness to the present moment with openness and nonjudgment. Practicing mindfulness meditation helps reduce stress, improve emotional regulation and focus, and bring calm and clarity to daily life.
Try starting with 5-10 minutes of seated meditation daily, focusing on your natural breathing patterns. You can also weave in 1-2 minute mindfulness breaks throughout your day, tuning into your senses before meetings or meals. Use apps like Calm, Headspace, or Insight Timer to guide your practice.
Example: Sandra struggles with anxiety, constant rumination, and difficulty concentrating at her corporate job. She meditates 10 minutes daily after waking up and before bed with the Headspace app. She also sets reminders to take a few mindful belly breaths before essential work meetings. After six weeks, she noticed feeling less anxious, more focused, and sleeping better.
Habit 6: Efficient Time Management
With many responsibilities competing for your attention, intentional time management is critical to productivity and reducing stress. Carefully planning your days and weeks allows you to prioritize what matters most and have the capacity for healthy habits.
Use productivity methods like time blocking to assign set times for work, family, self-care, etc. Batch similar tasks together when possible to preserve mental energy. Leverage tools like calendar reminders and to-do apps to save mental space. Continually assess how you spend time and adjust areas that feel imbalanced or inefficient.
Example: Dan feels overwhelmed balancing growing his freelance business and caring for his two young kids as a single parent. He starts planning his weeks around his priorities using a time-blocking system. He assigns set times for work appointments and batches admin tasks together to maximize efficiency. He schedules daily family activities like exercise and bonding. After several weeks, he feels less frenzied and enjoys additional time with loved ones.
Habit 7: Positive Affirmations
Affirmations help reframe self-limiting beliefs and direct your inner dialogue towards empowerment, self-confidence, and worthwhile pursuits. Say positive phrases about yourself aloud or silently throughout the day to cement a new self-narrative over time.
Your affirmations should be believable and stated in the present tense. For example: “I am confident,” “I am mentally strong.”, “I live a healthy and balanced life.”. Anchor affirmations to goals, set smartphone reminders and place physical affirmation notes around your home and workspace. Respond to negative self-talk compassionately yet firmly when it arises.
Example: Joan struggles with low self-esteem and wants to shift towards more self-confidence and kindness. She writes the affirmation “I love, appreciate and believe in myself” on several Post-it notes and sticks them around her house so she sees the message frequently. She also sets up daily reminders on her phone. She pauses, breathes, and repeats her new affirmation when thinking negatively. Over weeks and months, her self-talk shifts, and she feels more self-assured.
Habit 8: Journaling for Reflection
Journaling unveils insightful discoveries about your inner world, clears mental and emotional clutter, enhances creativity, and supports self-awareness.
Set aside 15-30 minutes daily for stream-of-consciousness writing about your thoughts, feelings, experiences, reflections, and dreams. Or use guided prompts related to gratitude, growth, and goals. Whenever possible, write by hand to engage multiple areas of the brain. Maintain privacy; destroy entries later if desired.
Example: Aki wants to know himself more profoundly but struggles with consistency in his haphazard reflection attempts. He purchases a leather journal and colorful pens. Before bed, he sets up his journal on his nightstand, lights a candle, plays soft music, and allows his reflections to flow for 20 minutes without self-judgment before locking the journal away. After several months, he feels he better understands himself, his needs, and his next growth steps.
Case Study: Mary’s Transformation
Mary felt overwhelmed, exhausted, and directionless – like she was going through the motions each day without meaning or purpose. She desperately wanted change but didn’t know where to start. Stumbling upon the “8 Habits in 2 Months Challenge”, she committed wholeheartedly.
She began waking up an hour earlier to walk as the sun rose, then journaled her dreams and goals. She did home workout videos over her lunch break and listened to educational podcasts while cooking dinner. She created vision boards with affirmations and meditated to stay grounded amidst life’s ups and downs. Eventually, these simple practices became second nature.
Over the eight weeks, Mary developed more mental clarity, resilience, and purpose. She implemented better boundaries and made more intentional choices about spending her time and energy. She felt healthier and more energized. By caring for her mind, body, and spirit each day, she experienced profound renewal. Her days were filled with greater meaning and direction.
Mary continues her new morning and evening rituals years later. Her world expanded exponentially simply by showing up for herself consistently and intentionally day after day. Thanks to the power of small, daily habits, she is now thriving in every area of her life.
Key Takeaways
- Lasting transformation happens gradually through adopting small, manageable habits over two months.
- Wake up early, move daily, eat mindfully, learn continuously, meditate, manage time, affirm yourself, reflect often
- Identify the habit loop for each routine: cue, action, reward
- Schedule habits, use apps and tools, join support groups
- Even implementing one habit can create a ripple effect to improve your life
- Be patient and consistently see benefits; celebrate small wins
Conclusion
The path to your highest potential begins with a single step repeated day after day. What step will you take today? Which of these eight life-changing habits will you adopt over 60 days? The opportunity for growth starts now. Accept the challenge and commit to elevating your days through life-giving habits that empower you to show up as your best self – not just for two months, but for the long haul.