30 Days Challenges

Current challenge

Learn Piano Challenge

Goal: Do something related to piano every day, ideally practice directly if I’m at home, but anything that helps me progress counts (preparing training videos, listening to the song, studying part of it, …).
Why: I’ve had a piano for years, playing with one hand (or even one finger) for fun. I have tried different approaches to get better, but never really found the right method for me. I want to try again and be more consistent, see if I can make progress, or at least have fun doing it.

Past challenges

Sleep Challenge (October 2025)

Goal: For 30 days, progressively delay my minimum wake-up time and track the impact.
Why: I tend to wake up too early, because I don’t go back to sleep once I wake up. Test if staying in bed longer improves my energy, mood, and productivity during the day.
Result: Not completed, but still useful.
Experience summary:
- I didn’t manage to keep the full challenge for 30 days, but I still learned a few things.
- I realized that waking up earlier doesn’t make me more productive. I just tend to fill the time with less important tasks.
- My energy and mood seem more influenced by other factors (diet, emotions, daily stress) than by wake-up time itself.
- Most importantly, I proved to myself that I can stay in bed longer without feeling guilty or “late.”

Technical Update Challenge (September 2025)

Why: Since I’m working full-time on RaspberryTips, I don’t have much time to learn about new technology outside of my tutorials.
The goal of this challenge is to keep up with the latest concepts so I don’t fall behind.
I’ll just spend a few minutes a day reading about things I don’t know much about and seeing where these technologies connect to my work.
Goal: Learn or discover one modern Linux, Raspberry Pi, or Python concept each day for 30 days. My goal is to refresh my sysadmin background, catch up with recent trends, and stay up-to-date with the latest technologies I might have missed.
Completed on July 30.
Experience summary:
- I really liked this experience. I learned a ton of “buzzwords” I often skip or about concepts that didn’t exist when I was an active sysadmin. It wasn’t that complicated but clarified many things in my brain.
- ChatGPT does a good job in breaking things down, linking them to things I already knew. You need to go back and forth to really digest what it says and make sure you understand, but it’s helping a lot.

Diet Reset Challenge (July 2025)

Goal: Go back to a clean, stripped-down food plan for 30 days.
Why: My diet has slightly drifted from the one that originally produced results (Wildfit). The goal of this challenge is to strip it back to the essentials and see how my body reacts.
Completed on July 30.
Experience summary:
- I did exactly what I set out to do for about three weeks of the month, except when I wasn’t home.
- The results with the ketone meter and scale are very positive, and I think I have found the culprit.
- However, it will take some extra time to properly adjust my habits (adding back only what satisfies me but doesn’t interfere with my goals).

No Caffeine Challenge (June 2025)

Goal: Replace all caffeine sources (e.g., coffee, tea) with alternatives like chicory or rooibos, and track the impact on sleep, energy, and mood.
Why: I drink a lot of coffee out of habit more than anything else. Caffeine has no impact on my cortisol levels for medical reasons, but I’m curious how much coffee affects the way adenosine works and, consequently, my sleep and overall energy levels. Since I always wake up too early, perhaps it’s related.
Completed on June 30 (no coffee or tea for a month 🎉, almost no chocolate too).
Experience summary:
- The first week was awful. I had no motivation, and the afternoons were extremely hard. I was half-asleep on the couch. The second week was slightly better, but I still didn’t feel productive. Everything got back to normal during the last two weeks though, so it was a good idea to do the experiment for a month and not just a few days.
- I mostly replaced coffee with unsweetened chicory, which is almost the same thing (I’m not a big coffee fan anyway). I just worry about the calories and carbs related to my keto diet and intermittent fasting. However, it seems okay if I put a pinch in each mug or prepare a large pot of coffee for the whole morning.
  Rooibos is also a good replacement because it has no calories or carbs.
- In terms of energy or sleep, it’s difficult to determine if anything has changed. I think I’m not waking up as early, but I’m not sure if that’s because I’m thinking about it or if it’s directly related. However, my “body battery” score on my Garmin watch has never been higher than it is now, so I guess it’s working.
- I will probably maintain the same habits now that I’m used to it. I may try drinking coffee in the morning or after my midday nap if I feel drowsy. I want to see if, now that I’m no longer used to it, it will give me a boost. Also, I’ll eat dark chocolate in moderation. 🙂

15K Steps Challenge (May 2025)

Goal: Walk an average of 15k steps per day during the full month.
Why: I usually walk around 11k steps/day, which is good, but I want to push it further and see what happens if I go above that limit for a full month. With the summer coming and some time scheduled near the sea, it should be the perfect month to walk more.
Completed on May 23 (450k steps reached, month ended at 584k!)
Experience summary:
- Reaching 15,000 steps each day was challenging, especially during the first week at home. I still increased my number of steps, but it was more between 10,000 and 11,000 (versus the usual 8,000 to 10,000).
- That’s only when I was on holiday the next two weeks, that I really got out and walked a lot (an average of 27k steps a day) and so quickly cleared the challenge.
- This challenge made me realize that I can do way more than 10,000 steps a day, but I need to be in the right environment. As for body composition and other measurements, it’s still too soon to know if the results are promising.

Audible Challenge (April 2025)

Goal: Listen to an audiobook for at least 15 minutes each day.
Why: I’m a slow reader and listen to many podcasts. I like books, but I’m not making as much progress as I’d like. I feel Audible could be a solution to “read” more.
In theory, even just 15 minutes per day could lead me to read one more book per month, which is great.
Completed on April 30
Experience summary:
- I probably didn’t do 15 minutes a day, but I did at least 10 minutes a day, with a few days where I did a lot more (listening while driving).
- It proved once again that I can’t stand still, even while listening to something. It works much better if I’m cleaning or doing something at the same time. I also did some sunbathing towards the end of the month, which worked much better than sitting indoors.
- Anyway, I finished another book this month (Sahil Bloom – 5 Pillars of Wealth), so I think it was a successful test. I’m going to try to listen to audiobooks more regularly than before (probably not every day though).

Meditation Challenge (February 2025)

Goal: Sit and meditate for at least 5 minutes each day. Can be with an app or not, any type of meditation or breath work counts.
Why: I’ve never been very successful with my previous attempts, but I’m interested in trying it again consistently for a month. I may use some rest time each day to stop overthinking and focus on the present.
Failed challenge.
Experience summary:
- I did a few sessions at the beginning of the month, but I wasn’t clearly motivated enough, and since I didn’t see any benefits, it felt like a waste of time.
- I know it’s supposed to take time to see results, and the whole point was to “waste time”, but I couldn’t do it regularly.
- Then I was away for half of the month, and just didn’t think about it at all.
- At least I tried to make it a priority, but no better results than in my previous tests 🙂

Daily Reading Challenge (January 2025)

Goal: Add a reading session every afternoon (at least 15 minutes).
Why: I think I could read more, and it fits well with my goals of reducing screen time and having more peaceful moments in my days. I’m also going to use this challenge as an opportunity to go back to physical books (instead of Kindle) to see how it feels.
Completed on January 30th, 2025
Experience summary:
- I’ve read an entire book during this experiment (Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Thinking Humans), in paper form.
- I did it every day, it wasn’t that hard. Having the paper edition around probably helped me remember to do it, but I almost found a rhythm with similar times each day, so there is a high chance that I will keep this habit in the long run. Maybe not every day, but I’ll try to do it regularly, especially if I find some good books I’m interested in reading.
- The only problem was that I chose a complex topic that was a mix of history and story (pretty easy to read even in the afternoon) with “how it works” which was quite challenging for me, especially after lunch. A lighter topic would probably be a better choice for that time slot.

Journaling Challenge (December 2024)

Goal: Write in a journal for about 10 minutes each day.
Start with the mood of the day, then a prompt in a life category, and let the mind flow.
Write a weekly summary every Sunday.
Why:
- As an overthinker, I tend to go around in circles on certain issues, often making them more complicated than they are and procrastinating in a way. I’ve done a weekly journal several times and it has helped, but I think I could try doing it daily if prompted with good questions.
- It’s also a good time of year to reflect on what’s going well, what could be improved, and to set new goals for 2025.
Completed on December 30th, 2024
Experience summary:
- It was especially useful at this time of year to reflect on the past months and think about goals for the next year. I’m not sure it would be useful to do it every day forever, but maybe I could try to do it more often, or just increase my Sunday checks to include more thinking.
- I’m pretty bad at analyzing and summarizing my “mood of the day”, so that part of the exeperiment wasn’t a success
- But with good prompts, I can come up with new ideas pretty quickly and find a way out of a lot of things that would go around in my head if I didn’t sit down and think about them for a few minutes.

Japanese Challenge (November 2024)

Goal (do at least one of the following each day):
- Option 1: Add 2 new words per day and review the previous ones on Mosalingua
- Option 2: Create or review a vocabulary sheet
Why:I’m planning a trip to Japan in 2025, so I’ve installed an app to learn a few words. But it’s hard and I’m not regular, so I’m not making much progress. Maybe I need some extra motivation to do it, this challenge might help.
Completed on November 30th, 2024
Experience summary: I didn’t manage to add 2 new words a day because I couldn’t find the right app. It suggested too complicated words that I couldn’t even understand or pronounce once, so it was impossible to remember them. But I used the Mosalingua app every day to try to remember the words I already had in my list. I also made some cheat sheets and started listening to Paul Noble’s book to learn Japanese, so overall I still made some progress. It was a good challenge to push me a bit further, but it’s still hard :-).

Learn Something New Daily (October 2024)

Goal: Watch a 15-minute video on a new topic every day.
Why: Gain a broader knowledge of more things and discover potential new interests.
Topics done:
- Science: Internet history, Prehistory, History of electricity, 3D printing, vaccines, life evolution, Life in 2050, Decentralized finance (DeFi), Car Engines, Quantum Computers, How animals see the world, GPUs, Neuroplasticity
- History: Timeline of world history, Roman Empire, Industrial Revolution, vikings, Grenoble
- Culture: Art movements, Brazil (history, economy & culture), Seasonal time change, Japan History, Introduction to the major religions, Japan Culture, political systems, India
- Nature: Volcanoes, Climate change
- Health: Immune system
- Economic: Inflation
Completed on October 30th, 2024
Experience summary: I discovered a lot of excellent YouTube channels (and clearly messed with the YouTube algorithm, which no longer knows what to recommend to me ^^). I won’t keep this as a daily habit, but I now know that I can easily find videos that summarize something I know nothing about.

Challenges ideas

Daily Learning Log

Goal: Write down one idea, insight, or thing I learned every day.
Why: I love learning and listening to podcasts. It helps to get ideas and inspiration. But if I don’t write them down quickly, I forget them. The goal is to note at least one idea each day, and if possible, think about how I could apply it in my life or business.

Gratitude Challenge

Goal: Write 3 things I’m grateful for each day, or use gratitude prompts if ideas are hard to come by.
Why: I tend to focus a lot on the future, what might happen, what I should do to avoid or prepare for it, overthinking. This challenge could help me to be more present, positive, realize how lucky I am and improve my overall happiness.

Daily Drawing Challenge

Goal: Try to draw something every day, regardless of the result.
Why: I draw very badly, but I’ve never really tried to improve. This challenge could help me to switch off, concentrate on something else, and who knows, maybe make some progress.

Daily Photography Challenge

Goal: TBD
Why: TBD

Yoga Challenge

Goal: TBD
Why: TBD