Daily Tasks
Building a new “you” can seem like a daunting task. Likely, you’ve tried before and failed. Why will this time be different?
For starters, you didn’t fail previously. You found some ways that don’t work. By eliminating what doesn’t work, you get
closer to finding what does. In this challenge, we’re breaking things down Mickey Mouse style. It’s not because I think
you’re dumb. It’s because we all have a lot going on and taking on too much too soon leads to failure.
So we break it down into little steps.
Little steps are easier to complete.
Completing multiple little steps compels you to keep going.
For 45 days, you will have some tasks to complete each day. This chapter explains what those tasks are and why they are included in
this challenge. In case it’s not clear, you should read this chapter before starting the challenge.
Subsections of Daily Tasks
Drink 1 Gallon Of Water Daily
It seems pretty straightforward, right? Drink 1 gallon of water. After all, it’s still 100 degrees outside, how hard can this be?
You might be surprised.
Why drinking water is important
Sixty percent of your body is water. Your body uses water to
- regulate body temperature
- carry nutrients and oxygen to your cells
- protect vital organs and tissues
- joint lubrication
- keep tissues in your eyes, mouth, and nose healthy and moist
There have also been studies showing that many people mistake thirst for hunger, which can lead to overeating. So water is good stuff.
How much water do you need?
Many factors influence how much water your body needs. Your activity level, the temperature, and even the food types can impact how much your body needs. Because of the varying factors, there is little scientific evidence to say how much is enough. One gallon per day is enough to cover all but the extreme cases.
Why is this part of the challenge?
Drinking 1 gallon of water is in the challenge for two reasons:
- Your body needs the water, and you likely aren’t drinking enough
- Sometimes, the simplest tasks are the hardest. If it’s 11 pm and you still have 1 quart of water in your jug, guess who will be up peeing all night if you check that box?
Over the next 45 days, this task will teach you to be mindful of your priorities throughout the day, not just at the beginning or end.
Workout For 45 Minutes Daily
We’re a gym, so it may not surprise you to find a fitness component in the challenge. 🤣 However, the challenge for the next 45 days is to workout every day. Let’s break this down and see exactly what that means.
Define “A Workout”
CrossFit counts. Not all of us work out every day of the week, and CrossFit does not cover all fitness goals and skills. For clarity, a workout is defined as:
a practice or exercise to test or improve one’s fitness for athletic competition, ability, or performance
This means things like skill development are in scope: actively working on push-ups, handstands, and recovery exercises. Yoga is a great active recovery exercise for non-gym days, as is Kelly Starrets’s The Ready State stretching program. A 45-minute walk will even count toward this goal and give you 45 minutes to listen to podcasts or audiobooks. Let’s be clear though: walk with purpose. This is not a stroll to find a seat at the Sunday church service. It’s the “get to Golden Corral before the rest of these f**kers” walk at the end of the service.
Why is this part of the challenge?
Time. Management.
Forty-five minutes can seem like a lot of time to set aside in your busy schedule. Making it a priority helps you de-prioritize tasks that don’t add value to your life. Things like mindlessly surfing Facebook or Instagram, binge-watching Netflix or YouTube, or “pretending” to get ready to do other tasks. This will teach you to identify what is essential in your life, make the time to do it and leave unimportant tasks to remain forever undone.
Read 10 Pages Each Day
Sorry, but Fabio is going to have to wait. Task #3 on your daily list is to read ten pages of a nonfiction book. Romance novels, Harry Potter, and Scooby Doo coloring books are all out.
Which books to read
Anything that feeds your brain and helps you grow. Personal and business development are great candidates. Learn how to do that thing you’ve always wanted to do or launch that side business you’ve always dreamt of. Topics like philosophy, communication, and entrepreneurship are great examples as well. If you don’t know where to start, below you’ll find 21 books that have impacted me most significantly.
Why is this part of the challenge?
It may seem counter-intuitive for the challenge, but you’ll see it fits right in upon further investigation. Reading ten pages per day is hard. Much like task #2: workout for 45 minutes every day, this task forces you to prioritize what is important and disregard the rest. Reading nonfiction also helps your mind grow. A common misconception is that learning is over once you have graduated from school. Nothing could be further from the truth. Graduating means that the learning has just begun. Still, thanks to an endless attention war for our time from news, social media, work, and other obligations, most of us never incorporate continuing education into our daily routine.
How to choose a book
Pick one. They’re all good. The best part is if you start one and don’t like it, put it down and choose another. I would pick a topic you are interested in, but if you don’t regularly read, I would avoid heavy topics. For example, if you’ve always wanted to learn to write code but have never done so, Advanced Artificial Intelligence Algorithms might be a challenging start. Don’t forget about the public library, either. Not only do they have thousands of books to choose from, but they are also equipped with a staff of librarians who are thrilled to help someone find the perfect book.
21 books to choose from
- As A Man Thinketh James Allen
- Can’t Hurt Me David Goggins
- How an Economy Grows and Why It Crashes Peter Schiff
- Man’s Search For Meaning Viktor Frankl
- Managing Your Mind Gillian Butler, Nick Grey, Tony Hope
- Money: Master the Game Tony Robbins
- Never Split the Difference Chris Voss
- Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise Anders Ericsson
- Principles Ray Dalio
- Ready, Fire, Aim Michael Masterson
- The 4-Hour Workweek Tim Ferriss
- The 48 Laws of Power Robert Greene
- The 50th Law 50 Cent
- The Hard Thing About Hard Things Ben Horowitz
- The Obstacle is the Way Ryan Holiday
- The Rise of Superman: Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance Steven Kotler
- The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck Mark Manson
- The War of Art Steven Pressfield
- The Way of Men Jack Donovan
- Think And Grow Rich Napolean Hill
- Unbeatable Mind Mark Divine
Follow Your Meal Plan
Daily task number 4 is to follow your meal plan, whatever that may be (unless it’s the Cheetos, Slim Jim, and Redbull plan, then it’s a hard no). This task won’t appear on your daily task list until the end of week one. During week one, you’ll learn about different meal plans, how to calculate calorie intake, and designing your meal plan. Since you won’t have that information at the start of the challenge, initially, it doesn’t make sense to have that on your daily task list.
You will also learn about standard diet plans such as paleo, keto, whole food, and macros. We will also debunk some marketing myths about nutrition and talk about the forbidden fourth macro (but no hints here, you’ll have to follow along in the challenge to learn about it).
Why is this part of the challenge?
Good nutrition is the foundation of everything. Hippocrates stated “Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food.” Unfortunately, the details of making that a reality are a bit more complex, so we spend the first few weeks of this challenge learning the basics of good nutrition. Changing your diet can help you shape your body, but it can also help you sleep better, have more energy, and increase your mental focus.