The 30-Day Challenge

A simple experiment in showing up

Hey World 👋

Ever have a creative idea just sitting there - in a notebook, in Lightroom, in your head - for way too long?

We tell ourselves we’ll share it when it’s ready, but somehow “ready” never comes.

That was me (Becky Isjwara) with my film photography. I loved taking pictures, but they never made it out of my computer. I didn’t think they were good enough to share, so I kept creating but not posting.

My co-host, Bhav Sharma, felt the same about writing. She wanted to get better at it, but putting together full newsletter issues felt like such a heavy lift 😰

And perhaps by coincidence, we both decided to take on a 30-day publishing challenge.

My photography mentor, Taylor Pendleton, challenged me to put my work out there. Taylor even offered pointers (find themes like colour, framings, black-and-white) and accountability - we’d do the challenge together. Every day for a month.

Bhav was on a call with our friend and fellow small creator Linart Seprioto, who had just finished posting one Substack Note a day for 30 days the month prior. It sounded so freeing that Bhav decided to do the same: stop overthinking, just show up, and see what happens.

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💡 Why a 30-Day Challenge Works

As small creators, the fewer eyes we have on us, the higher the stakes can feel. Every post starts to feel like it must be a masterpiece - because if only a handful of people are watching, we can’t “waste” their attention.

A 30-day challenge flips that script:

• Lowers the bar by focusing on small, repeatable actions.

• Shifts focus to reps over results, so there’s no single “make-or-break” post.

• Builds momentum that doesn’t require a burst of willpower every day.

The real magic? It makes the daily action non-negotiable. No “Should we? Shouldn’t we?” - just do it, tick the box, move on.

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🛠️ How We Set Ours Up (and How You Can Too)

Here’s the process we’ve been using - and the little traps we’ve noticed along the way.

1. Define It Clearly

We each picked one creative action to repeat daily:

• Becky → post one film photo 📸

• Bhav → post one Substack Note ✍️

The key is shrinking the scope until it feels almost too small. If we’d tried to post across three platforms or write a full article every day, we’d have quit by Day 5 (Bhav may not even have started 😂)

2. Locate Our Inputs

We didn’t start from scratch. I raided my Lightroom for favourite shots. Bhav carved out 10–15 minutes to jot down short ideas.

If you worry you’ll run out of material (we did!), keep a running idea list. Even “trivial” ideas tend to look better a week later.

3. Prepare a Safety Net

Life will get in the way. The only way to survive is to make it easier to keep going than to stop. For us, that looked like:

• Simple templates for captions/titles.

• A few posts batched ahead for buffer days.

• Tracking progress — Bhav created a tracker in her notebook.

We gave ourselves a 2-hour prep limit so we didn’t disappear into setup mode.

4. Have Accountability

We told people. Both of us were part of an “daily posting challenge” WhatsApp group. Even if public accountability isn’t magic, it makes ghosting the challenge awkward.

5. Execute Without Drama

Our rule: post, then walk away.

No spiralling into “Should we have edited differently?” or “Should we have posted later?” Once it’s out, the job is done.

Keeping the daily scope tiny means there’s no room to justify “just one more tweak.”

6. Modify If Needed

Halfway through, we check:

• Taking too long? Shrink it.

• Getting bored? Add variety.

Adjusting isn’t “cheating.” The goal is to finish, not to suffer.

7. Conclude and Reflect

When Day 30 hits:

• We celebrate (with a cheeky treat).

• Reflect on what we’ve learned about our content, process, and mindset.

• Archive our best work for reuse.

• Decide whether to keep going, adapt, or stop.

Skipping this reflection step is the biggest missed opportunity we see - it’s where half the value hides.

🌟 What We Noticed

After just one month we’d already started to pick up on some perks:

• Consistency felt easier - the daily debate was gone.

• We tested ideas faster - no more waiting weeks to see what landed.

• Confidence crept in - we proved to ourselves we can follow through.

• Momentum was built - the more we posted, the more lucky breaks happened.

🧭 A Final Thought

A 30-day challenge isn’t about the posts. It’s about the muscle we build by showing up.

When we start posting small, we lower the pressure. And when the pressure drops, the work flows.

So whether it’s a photo, a Note, a short video - try showing up for 30 days in a row. You might be surprised how much changes.

💬 Your Turn

If you were to start a 30-day challenge tomorrow, what would it be?

Hit reply and tell us — we’d love to hear it.

Bhav & Becky 🌎

🚨 P.S. We’re hosting a February Publish Challenge in honour of this post, and because committing to a full 30 days felt too much 😂

The brief: one piece of content a week. That’s it.
No over-thinking. No perfection spiral. No pretending you’ll “start next month”.

If you’d like some low-stakes accountability and a group chat that gently side-eyes you if you disappear, hit reply and we’ll send you the link to join - we start 1st Feb.

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🎙️ ICYMI - here’s our latest episode of the Small Creator Big World podcast, where we share the 4 lessons 2025 taught us as small creators 👇