The Alex Banayan 30-Day Journaling Challenge -Starting Today, June 1
- Hooty Hoot
- Jun 1
- 3 min read
The blog is back. And what better way to restart than with the challenge that started everything.
I first did this challenge back in April 2022. I found it through the Self Improvement Daily podcast, and something about the three questions just stuck with me immediately not in a complicated, elaborate way, but in the quiet, oh this is exactly what I needed kind of way.
I completed all 30 days without skipping once. For someone who had tried and abandoned countless journaling habits before, that felt like a big deal.
Now, four years later, the blog is coming back to life. And I figured, why not start exactly where it all began?
Today, June 1, I'm doing it again. And I'd love for you to join me.
What Is the Alex Banayan 30-Day Challenge?
Alex Banayan is the author of The Third Door,a book about how the most successful people in the world didn't wait in line; they found another way in. But this challenge isn't from the book. It's a reflective journaling practice he shared, built around three deceptively simple questions you answer every single night for 30 days.
That's it. Three questions. Thirty days. Pen to paper.
The Rules (Simple, But Non-Negotiable)
1. Answer 3 questions every day, at the end of each day.
Not in the morning. Not at lunch. At night, when the day has actually happened and you have something real to reflect on.
2. Pen to paper only.
Not your phone. Not a notes app. Not a doc. A physical notebook, a pen, your handwriting. There is something about the slowness of writing by hand that lets things surface that typing never does.
3. Do not skip a day.
If you skip, you start over from Day 1. This rule sounds harsh but it's actually the point . The consistency is the practice.
My tip: Put your notebook somewhere visible. I keep mine on my nightstand. If I'm about to go to sleep and it catches my eye, I do it right then. Out of sight really does mean out of mind with this one.
The Three Questions
Every evening, open your notebook and answer these:
What filled me with enthusiasm today?
What drained me of energy today?
What did I learn about myself today?
Write until the page feels empty of thoughts. Don't edit yourself. Don't worry about whether it's coherent or eloquent or makes sense to anyone else. Just let it pour out. The messier, the more honest.
What Happened When I Did This in 2022
Write until the page feels empty of thoughts. Don't edit yourself. Don't worry about whether it's coherent or eloquent or makes sense to anyone else. Just let it pour out. The messier, the more honest.
I went in skeptical. I wasn't sure I'd finish. I thought the questions might feel repetitive after the first week.
Instead, I found myself looking forward to it each night.
By the end of 30 days I had a surprisingly clear picture of what genuinely lit me up (creative work in the mornings, slow evenings, finishing things) and what was quietly draining me (unfinished tasks I kept carrying forward, trying to be "productive" in ways that weren't actually mine).
It didn't change my life overnight. But it gave me data about myself that I didn't have before. Real, honest, unfiltered data ,written in my own hand.
Join Me This June
I'm starting today, June 1, 2026 ,which means June 30 is Day 30. A full month, a clean container.If you've been wanting to start a journaling habit but didn't know where to begin, this is the gentlest possible entry point. 10 to 15 minutes each evening. Three questions. A notebook and pen.
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