Quick summary: I’m giving up Twitter for 30 days. I normally tweet about the webmaster videos that we make. Please follow googlewmc on Twitter if you want to find out about new webmaster videos.
For the last few months I’ve been doing 30 day challenges:
- In May 2009, I walked 10,000 steps a day.
- For June 2009, I didn’t watch television for 30 days.
- For July 2009, I biked to work.
- In August 2009, I tried to read 15 books in 30 days. I only made it to twelve that month, but I knocked out three more later.
- For October 2009, I stopped using Microsoft software (both Windows and Office). That went so well that I’ve switched to Linux as my primary operating system.
- For November 2009, I needed something easy to do. I unsubscribed to Robert Scoble on both Twitter and FriendFeed. Robert is a fantastic guide to what’s new (and I like him personally)–if you’re just starting out there, he’s like training wheels to show you cool things. But back then he was going on about Twitter’s lists feature. It’s a fine feature, but I find talking about it as dry as dust, so I went Scoble-free.
- In December 2009, I went off caffeine.
So the question is: what to do for January 2010? Well, I’ve already been off Twitter for a week. I think I’m going to stay off Twitter/Facebook/FriendFeed for the rest of January.
Do you have suggestions for other 30 day challenges I should try? If so, leave me a suggestion.
P.S. We have some new webmaster videos almost ready. Normally I tweet about those instead of blogging them. So if you want to hear when those videos are released, follow googlewmc on Twitter.
{ 146 comments… read them below or add one }
LOL, and you posted this message to twitter. I thought you were doing away with the FB auto posting?
I went off Twitter last May, and it was a good (if difficult) experience. It not only helped me re-focus and get work done, but it really helped me better understand the value I get out of Twitter and social media in general. I think I was able to re-engage in a way that created more value with less time spent.
That said, there are days when 5 minutes without checking anything (email, Twitter, analytics) feels like 5 years – I imagine it’s what heroin withdrawal feels like.
Ok my bad, you were going to post just blog links to twitter
Matt,
You can keep going iPhone free for 30 days+
,Michael Martin
Meditate 1 hour every day for one hour. Help motivate me so that I will do it too!!!
How about being vegan for 30 days?
Daily for 30 days I would suggest:
Writing a blog post every day.
Solving a problem an a non-google help forum.
Uploading at least 1 photo to Flickr.
Cooking dinner (no eating out).
1. Don’t use Google for searching
2. Stop using your mobile
3. Don’t talk w/ your wife
Do you mean “for January 2010″ right?
Keith Dsouza, I’m not tweeting by hand, but I hooked FeedBurner up to tweet when I do a blog post. Since blog posts are fairly rare and I’m not personally tweeting, I didn’t feel too bad about that.
Michael Martin, that’s a good one. When I got my Nexus One, I carried both it and my iPhone around in my pocket for a long time. Just in the last few days I’ve started to leave the iPhone in the charger at home. So maybe that can be my backup 30 day challenge.
drunkenlamas, good point–changed. Thanks.
I didn’t realize you were doing this, I have been thinking about the same thing for a few months now! I was going to: go without cable for 30 days, go vehicle free for 30 days, go phone free for 30 days (only communicate online), vegetarian for 30 days, volunteer an hour a day for 30 days…..all good ideas.
Thank you — the world will be a better place with one less twittler !
(just kidding). I really don’t get it to be honest. the whole twittler and twitting thing. IM is way easier.
By the way, since I’m not tweeting, I’ll just comment here:
Check out this deliberately cheesy video about PubSubHubbub.
Good luck with it, Matt. Inspired by you, I did the one week without Twitter, too (went back to it today), and I feel more “peace of mind” as a result. That is not to say that Twitter is not good, for it certainly has its pluses. I just need to find the right balance in using it, aiming for no more than 20 minutes or so a day (instead of spot checking it five or six times an hour).
As for another 30 day item: how about a blog post per day for 30 days? Perhaps just short tech tips. Your past tech articles indicate that you are storehouse of knowledge on neat tech tricks / coding, and I would certainly enjoy seeing a slew of them.
I just received a link to this post from a tweet too, Matt I don’t think it counts as giving up Twitter if your using a tool that still tweets on your behalf…
I think you should do a forfeit…
Hi Matt,
in feb you could tell us each day one parameter of the google algo
Or you could promote each day one of your fav pictures in the internet.
Good luck, Martin
Hi Matt,
good luck with the challenge! I kind of tried to do the “digital cleanse”, but without really pushing it. This morning I realized that I should have still been doing it but it felt like it should have ended at least a week ago, based on how many times I ended up checking Twitter and Facebook… Sad.
Question: do you continue any of these challenges after they end? For example, did you bike to work at all since you did it for one month?
Cheers,
Tim
It looks like you’ve blogged at least once a month for last 5 years. Try ‘not blogging’ for 30 days
Try not using the internet for 30 days (aside from work).
Dote on your family and not the online World
One suggestion: Make something new every day. I suppose you already do this most days in the course of your job, so perhaps you could tweak it to create something non work-related every day for a month. Or maybe you could try expanding your cultural horizons. For example, you could try listening only to jazz, blues, classical, or other non-pop recordings a month.
(Along those lines, you may find this interesting. Andre Torrez does similar “diets” but extends them for a year. This year he’s only listening to music recorded in 2009.)
By the way, I’m going iPhone free (Nexus One only) starting Monday for one month. I’ll let you know how it goes.
BTW, how on Earth did the World manage before the Advent of “Twitter”?
Is try 30 new cooking recipes feasible ?
For each day of one month, do both:
- say something nice and meaningful about someone to another person, and
- say something nice and meaningful about someone directly to them.
For extra bonus points, the someone should be an individual you’re not particularly fond of or are on good relations with.
This will change your life more than anything else you’re done so far.
amused at going scoble free for 30 days
Happy New Year!!! Matt.
May I suggest “Go Vegetarian For 30 Days”, for you 30 days challenge?
Anyway, hope its a great year you and Google!
This is a really great idea Matt. I think I may have to start doing something like this. Giving up one thing per month is a great character building exercise and gives you great self-control.
How about eating at 30 restaurants for 30 days and tweeting a review for each?
Matt, first I have to ask a question. How many of those pedometers did you sell for Amazon? Did anyone ever tell you? I bought one, liked it so much that I bought one for my partner. She bought one for someone. You viral walking dude you.
30 days, let’s use your Internet reach for good (why did I know someone was going to suggest no Google?). Take a cat rescue league in a market every day that has no Internet reach and hook them up with a local agency that will scrub their site and help them apply for a Google grant among other things.
If you do this, we get dibs on DC.
Good luck. Don’t tell anyone that I still wear my pedometer. I don’t want to give it a bad name with the extra Christmas cookie calories.
Giving up anything for a set period is not giving up anything, IMO. E.g. Most smokers have “given up” smoking hundreds of times.
If you feel the need to give something up, it’s a problem you should give up for life.
For the next 30 days you could Learn the basic of a foreign language (not programming) you never learned (introduce the language in a post after 30 days)
Here’s an important and educational one: Go 30 days without consuming any industrial food. Only local grown, straight from the producer stuff. You’ll learn to cook, bake, the works. Will change you for life, guaranteed.
You could review a different wine every day for 30 days. That’s on my list
Donate 30 hours of your time to 30 different charities and causes over a month. That might end up being too much, depending on your schedule…
Learn a new language.
Teach yourself how to program C. There’s even a book :^P
Learn a musical instrumenth. No keyboard, a REAL INSTRUMENT.
Man, I could go on and on and on.. Going to be a busy 2010
Don’t watch TV for 30 days!
I am only watching barbie movies and baby TV with my daughters!
Loving it.
How about something non-technical but creative, paint a very free form picture a day. Expand your brain.
Have you seen Morgan Spurlock’s show ‘30 Days’? It might give you some ideas.
Matt, I love it. One day I might follow your lead. Not just yet, but I am a big fan. I just came up with a nice one, but not sure it would pertain to you as much. Just ate a Dove Promises Dark Chocolate Square, and they always have a nice thought/saying/whatever on the inside wrapper. Would make a nice 30 day challenge. 1) Eat a chocolate a day (who is going to turn that down) 2) Blog/Tweet/Share somehow the saying 3) Reflect on it.
Enjoy your non-twitter time.
“Question: do you continue any of these challenges after they end? For example, did you bike to work at all since you did it for one month?”
I ended up biking quite a bit until daylight savings ended. I’m looking forward to daylight savings kicking in again, because biking in the dark isn’t fun.
“How many of those pedometers did you sell for Amazon? Did anyone ever tell you?”
No idea, George Bounacos–I don’t do affiliate links on my blog. I just discovered another nice pedometer though. I’ll talk about it soon.
How about going vegetarian for the next 30 days? Assuming you eat meat.
If you’re doing the ‘digital cleanse’ you dont need to give up twitter totally, use it in a controlled fashion, like no more than fifteen minutes a day to be spent on social media like twitter, friendfeed and facebook. etc. Also what about the real cleanse about the stuff that accumulates in your computer? Do you regularly take a backup of important files into external storage drives and ‘cleanse’ your file system for files that may be needed only much later?
hi matt,why not twitter? Can you tell me whether google.cn results from caffeine now?
Hi Matt,
This is a weird one, given that I’m on the Chrome team, but it would be interesting to have you use IE for 30 days. Dunno how that’d work with you primarily being on Linux–maybe you’d have to use Wine, or have a Windows laptop, or something–but at the end of it you could give our team some fantastic perspective. Should we put images in the omnibox dropdown? Is there a way to do Accelerators that isn’t just confusing and useless? What would be the most effective way to advertise Chrome to an IE user? etc.
Hey Matts!! My sincere suggestion for you is to spend some time with your family!! go on a world tour or something like that!! Just leave everything!!
Following the lead of October 2009, how about giving up Google products for 30 days ? You just might be surprised. (BTW, I have no association with Microsoft)
Hi Matt,
I just read your post and all the comments from my iphone, while trying tk sleep in my bed. I must say it has really inspired me. I think I’m also going tondo something like this, but less techy, perhaps something that makes my overall life quality/health a bit better, and also the folks around me. I play squash 5 times a week. You should try to excersize every day for a month. I will ensure you that you can’t go for 3 days with excersizing after that month. Its addictive, but also very good for your body and mind. If you have children it willl also make you a better rolemodel.
@peter Kasting
I’m a power Chrome user. Please make an option for Chrome to show Image Properties on right mouseclick. This is something very basic and important for me but yet Chrome
is lacking this feature.
Meditation is a quasi-legitimate rationalization for sitting on your ass for an hour in a pose that indicates both serenity and a subtle “screw you” to the rest of society.
That motivate you enough?
Hey matt
I have a challenge for you. I have been following your blog avidly last few months and my challange is. Can you give up talking about SEO as a whole and move back to simpler times and talk about basics of blogging.
Regards
Nik
Don’t eat animal/fish meat for 30 days.
A pretty tough challenge is to get off sugar (refined sugar / products with added sugar / high corn fructose syrup …) for one month.
You might be surprised of how much sugar is around in every day products… and how hard it is to avoid them.
After the challenge you will definitely appreciate the effects of the sugar-free month on your body and mind.
Matt
You might wish to try doing the “Bacon Cleanse”: no bacon for 30 days
Matt Cutts:
Michael Martin, that’s a good one. When I got my Nexus One, I carried both it and my iPhone around in my pocket for a long time. Just in the last few days I’ve started to leave the iPhone in the charger at home. So maybe that can be my backup 30 day challenge.
Since you have used and liked iPhone so much, it will be nice if you can drop in a review sometime about how Nexus One compares to iPhone and what is your true (impartial?) impression of Nexus One.
Matt,
if you really want a challenge, try not using google search for a month or use yahoo search for a month
.
AJ
Possible challenge: probably too much, but become the ‘Yes Man’ but maybe don’t include email ..
Gave up reading comments onto your blog post
Do something for charity every day for 30 days. You could try different things like;
Writing a blog post about a charity that impresses you
Tweeting a link to a charity website
Giving SEO tips to a charity
Making a donation
Donating free ad space
Hosting a guided tour of Google offices for a group that wouldn’t normally be there
Auctioning some Google or personal stuff and give the proceeds to charity.
Daniel Fealko, I really like your suggestion and will try it myself.
give up refined sugar Matt.
Go out of your way to do something nice for someone you know (event better, do not know) every day for 30 days. Help an elderly citizen with their groceries, change someone’s tire on the side of the road, etc. You’ll have to look for the opportunities, but it would be an interesting exercise.
Hi Matt,
How about giving up Twitter for longer than 30 days, and start doing more webmaster videos regarding new updates.
In December 2009, I went off caffeine.
Caffeine, caffeine, that sounds familiar, mmm.
I gave up TV in December 1999, first over a dispute with my cable provider over bad ISP service which forced me into one of their extortionist commercial contracts. I swore I would never watch Cable TV at home again.
That has worked now for 10 years. Best decision I ever made. It gave me more time for reading, business, work, and other things.
Not sure I have a suggestion as to a particular thing to stop or change, but pick a activity you engage in that is particularly unpleasent, but that you know you need to do, and DO that one. Now that you are not watching TV, you should have the time to engage in something this is not completely an exercise in denial, but an exercise in improving your state of being.
IDEA:
You might also consider attempting to get the minimum 7 hours of sleep at night required to function each day. I tried that for a month, and that DID work. I average about 6 now, and my productivity has increased quite a bit. That means, regardless of what you are doing, that you hit the sack at that same time each night to get that minimum amount of sleep. Try THAT and see how it goes.
Hope that helps. Take care.
I think you should reveal one Google secret a day in the month of February.
Nice work avoiding Twitter/etc for 30 days.
Two suggestions for future challenges: No high fructose corn syrup, and a vegetarian diet.
The first is very hard to pull off.
The 100 mile diet… but I might wait til summer
abstain from using any Google product for a month.
I heard a rumor that you drank at least one Red Bull on Dec 20, 2009, at apx 11am
Well there are many things you can give up and a few you can give out. I think you should go for the later and give out something special…. Darn can’t give it out on twitter, well at least until February 1
Hi Matt
We have undergone quite a strange challenge for the last 2 months. I am not sure it would be a feasible one for you but it certainly makes you rethink your priorities. We have lived in a campervan with only well-water and a stand pipe for water throughout the whole of this whiteout in the UK. Our water system has frozen many times and the drinking water stand pipe has frozen many times but so far we have resisted the temptation to run off to a hotel. I do not think I will ever take showers, running water, washing machines and warmth for granted ever again. I am now very, very aware now as to how much water you can waste each day and having to collect and carry your drinking water really drills home just how much you use. It also makes you focus on recycling, packaging etc as there is little space and this experience has definately recalibrated us with regard to shopping etc.
I’m going to assume that’s the first time giving up Robert Scoble was placed parallel to giving up TV, Twitter, driving to work, and caffeine. Ironically, Scoble’s last post was about how hard it would be to give up Google.
As everybody above me mentioned, very inspiring post, Matt. And I like how you have both adding positives (walking, riding) and eliminating negatives (TV, caffeine). Now I just need to find the strength to do the same.
You’re too funny Matt! I’ve tried to quit so many of the same things (and failed) but I think I will start trying for only 30 days at a pop to see if that sticks. I also like the “go vegan” challenge mentioned above so much that I may consider it for my first challenge.
I’m amused by you giving up caffeine in December, just as the rest of the world is about to come to terms with it permanently (search wise).
Ian
I stopped using Twitter several months ago after using it daily for over two years, and it was one of the best decisions I ever made. I wish more people would try stopping for 30 days and see if they feel better.
Why would you give up on stuff for thirty days. What’s the point, lol.
Interesting list to do. But why would one gave up using Microsoft software, like there’s much better stuff out there?
Trying not to read too far into “went off caffeine” for the month of Dec. Does that mean we’ll all be using Caffeine in Jan.?
Try 30 days without bathing. You’ll find out who your real friends are.
But seriously, try an audiobook a day.
I must admit that now Google have stopped listing local search for seo and web design I have finally signed up with Bing and Yahoo and getting local map listings with them so actually I probably will be giving up Google for a long time. I have always recommended G to all my clients but I think not now!
How about not eating sugar for a month? I’ve eaten virtually no sugar for about 5 years — took a couple of years to lose the craving — I was addicted. For my body, it was the most important single health step that I took. I’m 62, in excellent health, partly because of no sugar. But every body is different; many people don’t crave sugar like I did, nor have the bad response to it that I did.
Matt, I really like your implementation on digital cleanse. I’m starting with low profile on orkut.com but that made me hooked onto FB. Slowly things will change. Was checking my gmail every 5 mins on a dedicated page. Closed that too. hooked up twitter to feedburners auto tweet. And Only use Google reader, have a facebook and gmail feeds too
btw, I started my 30 days off no Soda.. so far so good.
How about giving up 30 day challenges for 30 days?
You know, be less intense and just live life normally with nothing obsessive?
Discover 30 companies that are *way off the radar* that looks promising.
BUT with an unusual clause. It must be a non top country. Not USA, not UK, must be 3rd world countries. There are really good companies out there doing amazing stuff beyond the US radar.
Doesn’t have to be profit or success of any kind, just might be promising for you for something with an explanation.
dunno, just an idea.
cya,
Bart.
Try 30 days without bathing. You’ll find out who your real friends are.
Try some serious fitness Caveman Training or Gas Mask Training
It will be hard to get into at first, but you’ll love it after a while, and you’ll feel better, it would be the biggest life change you’d make! The boys in the US from API can help you out with this type of training. If you visit Australia you can come over to our place and train for free…. In return for some Google secrets.
Matt, are you deleting my posts? If so, why?
That is pretty interesting. I will try 30 days without TV.
As for you here are few thoughts for your 30 day trials:
- No computer / mobile / digital device usage from 9pm to 6am
- a harder one – no talking from 9pm to 6am
I know a good eye doctor who is currently in retirement in Haridwar (his book: http://eye.taragana.com/ ). He doesn’t talk from evening till morning. Looking at how peaceful, composed and serene he is at all times, I suspect mounabrata (the act of non-talking) has to contribute to it.
Don’t use Google for 30 days. Now that would be a TOUGH challenge
To live on 14 dollar a day
Dave (Original)
“Matt, are you deleting my posts? If so, why?”
I can see at least 4 of your comments on this thread, so I don’t think Matt is deleting your post. However, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if MWA would start deleting your posts the moment he get access to Matts blog’s admin
Use bing for a Month and give us you thoughts?
But seriously, how about ,
- Volunteer to a local charity for a month
- Quit drinking for a month? If you drink…
- Spend more time with family/friends to re-connect / reignite old relationships
Good luck whatever you do
Try doing Bikram Yoga for 30 days in a row. An amazing physical and mental challenge.
How about writing short How-To’s every day for a month about something you have experience with.
Or try taking a unique photo every day for a month and post the gallery link on you blog.
Be creative.
Didn’t you fail this challenge when you posted twice on twitter last weekend about real-time search and about this post?!
What about not going to work for a month?
or
No meat for 30 days, that’s if you’re not a vegi
This one would be pretty tough but can you go without yogurt for 30 days?
Adding 30-Day regiment of walking, or bicyling couldn’t hurt anyone, besides your body loves it, and it doesn’t hurt to give Twitter a break.
Hmm, they’re back. Strange.
RE MWA, nah he’s too busy ruining Doug Heils IHelpYou forum. To be fair though, he’s doing an outstanding job
Some additional suggestions
As a friend did for the Month of November of 2009: No yeast aka No bread-beer (which in his opinion sort of sounds like November)
maybe a raw foods only diet (which is another way to avoid cooking)
pack a lunch if you don’t work at home
try something new for 30 days: could be anything really: a sport, a course, lessons, volunteering etc………..
Hope that helps, although there are some excellent suggestions above. It looks like there are enough things to keep you going for awhile.
in 3 month, you stop sex
by the end of the year you move to tibet
I have not touched Twitter for at least 90 days. I might also try the “Go Vegan” challenge of Dev after I eat my juicy steak.
30 days eating fruits only – I’m trying to only eat fruits on sundays these days to compensate christmas, 30 days might need some supplementation though.
Don’t use Google for ‘personnal’ searching for 1 month !!
Hey Matt,
How about going vegetarian for one month. No meat or fish or eggs. Only grown food and dairy products. You can run a test also as to how it affects your physiology and psychology in terms of detoxing your body as well as changing your thought patterns.
I have done it (in the midst of one of the most carnivorous society on earth – the French) with some interesting results.
Cheers,
Umesh
Give up any type of manufactured food product for 30 days, if you don’t make it you don’t consume it! No burgers, chips, cola pop tarts etc. it’s a great health kick and will change the way you buy groceries forever.
My idea for you would be for you to journal, handwritten, not online. Your great grandchildren will be able to read all about you, years from now! It’s very relaxing and rewarding. Going back and reading old journals, gives you a lot of perspective:)
Hey Matt,
I got a challenge for you!!!!
First, great post. I do goal setting each month, but a 30 day challenge, thats great.
I challenge you to use no internet on your phone including no EMAIL!!!! for 30 days.
I would match you on it (and trust me, it would not be easy).
Cheers,
Mukul
Wow, if you could keep up all those thing every month you might be a god.
If you only keep one stay with the 10K steps a day. it’s a life saver!
Try not to have sex for 30 days.
How about going Raw for 30 days?
I’ve made it 5 days but the weekends are rough…going out with the wife
or ordering in on weekends makes ‘raw’ quite the challenge.
Giving Up Twitter is not a bad idea at all Matt. After all, 79% of what gets posted on Twitter is Spam Anyways.
“A spam-less Twitter feed might just be too good to be true. Spam is becoming an increasing problem on Twitter and something has to be done to separate the wheat from the chaff. Spammers are using Twitter as a tool by replying to your @username, which then causes the Tweets to show up in your timeline. There isn’t really a way to filter Twitter spam directly from a Twitter client. But there may be soon. ”
Twitter needs to start Flagging and Using Plug-ins like Akismet and such to control the SPAM.
Think of 30 feasible new ideas or concepts in 30 days. Then pass them on!
It is amazing how many ideas you can come up with when you are not focused on your job or industry.
It is so uplifting when your ideas come to reality, all you need to do is act on them or pass them on.
And the other 21% is gossip and hearsay.
Well, I thought about suggesting fasting for a month, but that just sounded painful. What about going vegetarian/vegan for a month? That’s something I’ve been intending to do for a while, but haven’t managed to pull off yet.
Good luck!
Tim
Try to be a Hungarian entrepreneur for 30 days, and find out all the relevant laws to kick off a webdesign agency! I cannot imagine a bigger challenge.:)))
since I never have logged into Twitter you’re big move isn’t really that big to me.
Kinda like the Coffee People business here in Portland, Oregon: their motto was “Good Coffee, No Back Talk”. Coffee baristas don’t backtalk, so the slogan was kinda empty, solving a problem that didn’t exist. Coffee People is slowly going out of business.
last december 2008 i stopped drinking coffee
last december 2009 i decided to stop drinking carbonated drinks
here are some 30 day challenge options for you
- record and publish google webmaster video a day for 30 days
- learn a to speak and write any Asian language in 30 days
- avoid using the elevator for 30 days
- going to church everyday for 30 days
- get your head shaved again and stay shaved for 30 days
- use contact lens for 30 days
- greeting microsoft and yahoo search team good morning for 30 days
- work at home for 30 days
- walk to work for 30 days
- no banning of suspected spammy websites for 30 days
Why don’t you try collaborating full time at a charity instead of Google for 30 days. I’ve noticed you have been very interested in these for the past months.
Im guessing your team can handle you being away for a month…
@Matt Cutts
I suggest not giving up Twitter. We look forward to your commentary about Google and everything else technology related. Why deprive us of that for another 3 weeks?
Dare I say … looks like you are on a 30 ways to enlightenment in 30 day challenges!
Go For It!
~Cheers
you said you stop use twitter and ff but still in your blog you keep follow me at top of right side
I am going to force myself to use twitter for 30 days, it will be really hard cuz for me there is nobody important enough to follow that closely.
Hi Matt!
A nice challenge would be coming to Portugal, learn the language and visit the whole country in 30 days. In the menatime you could also enjoy some great grilled fish near the sea
Cheers
A couple of ideas:
Get at least 8-10 hours of sleep each day for a month.
Rise 1/2 hour earlier each month (maybe do something interesting – run, walk, paint, whatever)
Eat a raw food diet.
Eat a vegan diet.
Give up sugar.
Give up all processed foods.
Try a strange exercise regime – like increasing the number of pullups you can do, or some such.
Do something nice for a stranger every day (not online – buy someone lunch, that kind of thing).
Taking off Twitter and sacrificing some followers is a nice challenge as I would anticipate you’ve reached the large community of followers though upon anything else, I admire you for that. A nice change would be not eating in front of the computer for 30 days, having a balanced rest and exercise, spending time with family during weekends, and continue giving up caffeine as well. Healthy living will always continue your success though so good luck with your plans.
Well, you had inspired me, so I have done without social media for a week- not sure about thirty days, but I am not on those sites much.
I like the suggestion of meditation. That may be a good way to focus the mind at the beginning of the day.
Hi Matt,
I bet you, you cannot do the followings:
1. Can you shutdown your laptop for 30 days? (atleast 20 or 10 or 5 days)
2. Can you switch off your mobile phone for 30 days? (atleast 20 or 10 or 5 days)
No, don’t “give up”, GIVE something.
Matt, how about online inkblogging for a month? Micheal Levin’s open source CellWriter could use some love, and its own version of sumocat’s build 52 or something better to make ink searchable for non MS users.
Uh, as input, Uwe Schmidts java wii whiteboard is a LINUX usable code, and might be configurable with your wii balance board code if you want a REAL handwriting challenge.
New goal for you should be to make sure the USA stays awake. I am talking about keeping every single person in the USA awake and aware of current situations that might not seem like they matter but in all reality they matter most…
For example how many people know have read the Declaration of Independence?
Make it a goal to read it, and understand it.
Then make a goal to understand a really simple Fact. There are 3 branches of our Government. What are they? I bet most people don’t know. Even further what responsibilities does each branch have?
I am a patriot and I love the USA and I want to make sure that “We the people” know what is happening and vote accordingly..
I would love to see you have a goal of creating an interest where people can talk about the best way to educate their children, because this sort of information is not taught in public schools.
Thanks
Thayne Trevenen
Matt, take a 30-day vacation with your wife of 10 years!
Use Bing exclusively for 30 days. You may even end up with few ideas on how to make Google better.
Disclaimer: I exclusively use Google for search
Lol
I see where this will eventually end up.
Matt Cutts absconding from the face of the earth for 30 days
30 days of meditation needs to be on your list. 30 days of, at minimum, two 15 minute sessions a day. I would stick with mindfulness/awareness meditation which is simple, not attached to any religion, and has been shown to change the architecture of the brain to be more oriented toward happiness and well-being. Has also been shown to increase attention span, and other good things.
You know you want to.
Great things! I gave up smoking… for good now. But at least I know, this 30 day pattern is good thing. Because people need minimum of 21 days to form a new habbit. Well at least experts say that. And if you like to do something for 30 days, its more likely to become part of life. Like not watching TV anymore
It is absolutely fantastic. I hear the good-bad news anyway, but my brain cells are not tired all the time.
I know its asking for too much. Here’s a suggestion to help out all the SEO’s around the world, release 1 video each day!!
My first salary as a Chinese migrant worker is about 10 Euros. So may I suggest you to live one month with 10 EUROS so that you may have another perspective to see the world?
You could try to not to use ALL Google products.
You will find ditching Twitter as easy as ditching Microsoft. Twitter is a time vacuum…aren’t computers supposed to free up time? Nice to hear you switched to Linux. For me, there was nothing better than building my daughters PC, and not spending a dime in software. Ubuntu!
Haha… nice one!
say no to twitter, at least you can get some rest out of that daily routine!
keep it up, Matt
Try going PayPal and Credit Card/Debit Card Free for 30 days.
Hi Matt,
I’m just really starting out trying to understand how to improve my visibility to clients and I’m entering the whole social networking, article marketing scene to help (not sure I have much of a real social life anymore as the SEO is consuming it all!).
A few ideas for the 30 day challenge:
Adopt a struggling online entrepreneur and give them 30 days mentoring to help turn them around (now that’s a real challenge!).
Speak to 30 different sole trader online companies (one each day) who don’t have the first clue about how to improve how their site ranks and spend a couple of hours giving them your guidance.
Donate a sizeable amount (not sure what this is) of Adwords opportunity to some really needy online organisations each day for 30 days. You could categorise it for example as charity, high tec, sole trader, export/import fledgling, companies competing with the big boys.
Or how about, “A day in the life of Matt Cutts” for 30days, posted here or on your social network. It could be what you got up to, who you met, what your thoughts were, what you had for lunch, what you worried about that day. I think it would be kind of interesting in a reality tv kinda way.
Anyway, have a great day and catch you soon.
Andy
Thats definitly an interesting trend as a FB or Twitter free for x days… like it was back in the days for television.
Nice to hear about the linux switch btw.
If you’re still looking for a 30-day challenge idea:
1) sketch a day! (something simple like a caricature, monster, stick figure doing an action pose…)
2) photo a day! (same concept but easier with a smartphone)
3) make at least one meal each day – breakfat, lunch, snack or dinner, from a recipe book (Martha Stewart Everyday Foods is great for good and quick) for you or for company
Good luck with whatever you decide.
~ben capozzi
Hi Matt..
i say don’t use Google, Yahoo or Bing for a month, and that includes your email as well.
regards
Yoray Narainpersad
Go without a smart phone for 30 days. You will find yourself more productive without all the unnecessary distraction.
Try one month without using the word “Google”.
You’re awesome! This is great inspiration!