How I want to use the last 120 days of the year: 120-Day-Finish-2026
In early September, twelve days after the start of my 1000-Day Challenge, a second, smaller project begins for me: the 120-Day-Finish-2026. From September 3rd to December 31st, split into four colored 30-day blocks. Each block gets its own theme, its own daily action, its own color in the posts.
Why the last 120 days, of all times?
Because a lot changes toward the end of the year. The days get shorter, it gets dark earlier, and that's exactly when I notice my own motivation dropping the most, it's always been that way in previous years too. Instead of just powering through, I wanted to shape this stretch deliberately, with a clear structure that carries me through fall and winter and lets me step cleanly into the new year, where the 1000 days keep running anyway.
Instead of aligning the months with the five pillars of my challenge, which are meant to apply across all 1000 days, I decided on four standalone themes. Each block is 30 days long, each gets its own color, and in the end there will be 120 posts side by side in four color tones.
The four blocks
Here's how the breakdown currently looks:
- Block 1 – Orange (Sep 3–Oct 2): A 30-day plank challenge and wall-sit challenge, combined with a minimalism challenge. Fitness and mindset in one block. More details coming soon!
- Block 2 – Red (Oct 3–Nov 1): Spartober – a month without unnecessary spending – meets a writing challenge and my return to drawing with a kind of Inktober.
- Block 3 – Green (Nov 2–Dec 1): No-Shave November and SelfCare November, plus a fitness goal: 60 kilometers of running or walking over the course of the month – especially fitting for the colder months, when it's more couch weather than anything else.
- Block 4 – Blue (Dec 2–31): A deliberately calmer, spiritual mindset month – while running and the gym just keep going. Reflection instead of new challenges.
A habit tracking system deliberately doesn't run block by block, but continuously across all 1000 days, the 1000 days themselves are essentially already my big consistency challenge. The 120-Day-Finish is more of an intensification for this one stretch of the year.
What happens next
Today, September 3rd, there's a big kickoff video. From now on, the content calendar takes over, planned day by day, with color, theme, and status for every post.
Maybe the 120-Day-Finish, in the end, isn't really the goal itself, but the proof that I can stick with it even through the darkest quarter of the year.
