I tried 75 Hard once. I made it 9 days before a stomach bug, a cold outdoor workout, and a strict no-cheat rule turned the whole thing into a guilt spiral.
The 75 grow challenge is the version I actually finished. It’s 75 days of 5 gentle daily rules: move for 30 minutes, nourish your body, learn something, journal, and give yourself grace. Miss a day and you don’t restart. You just add a day at the end.
I’m doing it again starting January 2027, and I wanted to write up exactly how I set it up. Below you’ll find the 5 rules, how 75 Grow compares to 75 Hard and 75 Soft, a step-by-step way to start, and the mistakes I made the first time.
If you’ve already tried the 75 Soft challenge, think of this as the next step. It keeps the softness but adds a little more growth.
What Is the 75 Grow Challenge?
The 75 grow challenge is a 75-day self-improvement plan with 5 daily rules: 30 minutes of movement, water plus one nourishing meal, 10 minutes of learning, 5 minutes of journaling, and a grace rule. Unlike 75 Hard, a missed day doesn’t reset you to day 1.
It sits somewhere between strict and soft. The goal is steady growth you can keep, not a 75-day endurance test.
75 Grow vs 75 Hard vs 75 Soft
75 Hard came first. Podcaster and entrepreneur Andy Frisella created it in 2019, and the rules are famously strict: two 45-minute workouts a day (one outside), a diet with zero cheat meals, a gallon of water, 10 pages of nonfiction, a daily progress photo, and no alcohol.
Miss one thing and you start over at day 1. That restart rule is what breaks most people, me included.
75 Soft showed up on TikTok as the kinder answer. One 45-minute workout, eat well, drink 3 liters of water, read 10 pages. I wrote a full breakdown of the 75 Soft rules if you want to compare.
75 Grow keeps the gentle pace but changes the focus. Less about your body, more about who you’re becoming. Two of the 5 rules are about your mind, and the grace rule replaces the restart.
The 5 Rules of the 75 Grow Challenge
Here are the rules I follow. Each one takes under 30 minutes, and most days the whole list fits in about an hour.
Rule 1: Move Your Body for 30 Minutes
Any movement counts. A walk, a wall Pilates session, a dance break in the kitchen. You can split it into three 10-minute chunks if that’s what the day allows.
This lines up with the CDC’s guideline of 150 minutes of moderate activity a week. Thirty minutes, five days a week, gets you there, so doing it all 7 days gives you a little cushion.
My go-to is a 30-minute mindful walk with no podcast. It’s the rule I look forward to most.
Rule 2: Drink Water and Eat One Nourishing Meal
No diet. No banned foods. Just one meal a day you’d feel proud to show a nutritionist, and enough water that you’re not running on coffee alone.
The National Academies suggest women get about 2.7 liters of total fluids a day, and some of that comes from food. I aim for a 1-liter bottle twice and call it good.
Rule 3: Learn Something for 10 Minutes
This is the “grow” part. Read 10 pages, practice a language app, watch a lesson on something you’ve always wanted to try.
Ten minutes sounds tiny. But over 75 days it adds up to 12.5 hours, which is enough to finish 3 or 4 books or get through the first unit of a new skill.
Rule 4: Journal for 5 Minutes
Write down one thing you did, one thing you felt, and one thing you’re grateful for. That’s it.
I use a plain notebook, but my free gratitude journal template works if you like prompts. Five minutes is short enough that I never skip it, even on bad days.
Rule 5: The Grace Rule
If you miss a day, you don’t restart. You add one day to the end of your challenge and keep going tomorrow.
This rule is the whole reason I finished. My first round took 81 days instead of 75, and I’m prouder of those 81 than any perfect streak I’ve ever started.
How to Start the 75 Grow Challenge
You can start any day, but I like the first Monday in January. Here’s exactly how I set it up.
Step 1: Pick Your Start Date
Count 75 days forward and write the end date somewhere you’ll see it. If you start January 4, 2027, you finish on March 19.
Step 2: Choose Your Default Version of Each Rule
Decide your usual workout, your usual learning, and your usual nourishing meal ahead of time. When the choice is already made, the habit is easier to do on a tired day.
Step 3: Set Up a Simple Tracker
Make 5 columns and 75 rows. Print my free habit tracker template or draw it in the back of your journal.
Step 4: Stack Each Rule Onto Something You Already Do
Journal right after brushing your teeth. Read while your coffee brews. Walk right after lunch. Linking new habits to old ones is the idea behind my micro habits list, and it works here too.
Step 5: Plan Your “Bare Minimum” Day
Write down the smallest version of each rule. A 30-minute walk can count as your movement, a glass of water and a banana as nourishment, and one page as learning. On sick days, this is your floor.
Does the 75 Grow Challenge Actually Work?
Seventy-five days is a smart length. A well-known study from University College London, led by Phillippa Lally, found it took people an average of 66 days for a new habit to feel automatic. The range was huge, from 18 to 254 days.
So 75 days gives most habits a real shot at sticking. It’s long enough to change you and short enough to see the finish line.
Timing helps too. Strava found that most people drop their new year goals by the second Friday of January, a date it now calls “Quitter’s Day.” If you start 75 Grow on January 4, day 75 lands in mid-March, way past that slump.
And the grace rule matters more than it looks. The same habit study found that missing one day didn’t really hurt long-term progress. What hurts is quitting because you think one miss ruined everything.
What I Learned From My First 75 Days
Week 1 felt easy. Week 3 felt boring. By week 6, the walks and the journal had become the calmest part of my day, and I stopped thinking of them as rules.
I missed 6 days in total. Two for a cold, one for a flight, and three where I just didn’t. The grace rule meant none of them turned into a spiral.
The learning rule surprised me most. I finished 4 books and got through the first 30 lessons of Italian on Duolingo. I’d been “meaning to” do both for years.
What didn’t change much was my body. That’s fine, because it was never the point. My sleep got better and my mood got steadier, and those mattered more to me than the scale.
How to Make the 75 Grow Challenge Your Own
The rules are a starting point. Here are swaps I’ve seen friends make that kept the spirit intact.
- Low-energy season: Drop movement to 20 minutes and add a 10-minute stretch. Snack workouts count.
- Busy parent: Learning can be an audiobook on the school run.
- Burned out: Swap journaling for my nervous system morning routine for the first two weeks.
- Want more: Add a 6th rule, like no phone in bed or a 10-minute tidy.
Just don’t add more than one extra rule. The whole idea is that it stays doable.
Mistakes to Avoid
I made all of these, so you don’t have to.
Making the rules too big on day 1. I started with 45-minute workouts and dropped back to 30 by day 4. Start small and level up in week 3 if you want.
Taking progress photos every day. They made me focus on my body, which is the opposite of what this challenge is for. One photo on day 1 and one on day 75 is plenty.
Doing it alone. Things got easier when my sister joined in week 2. We sent each other a checkmark emoji every night, which took 2 seconds and kept us both honest.
| Challenge | Daily workout | Diet rule | Mind rule | Miss a day? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 75 Hard | Two 45-min workouts, one outside | Strict diet, zero cheat meals | Read 10 pages of nonfiction | Restart at day 1 |
| 75 Soft | One 45-min workout | Eat well, drink only socially | Read 10 pages | Varies, usually restart |
| 75 Grow | 30 min of any movement | Water + one nourishing meal | 10 min learning + 5 min journal | Add a day to the end |
If you liked this, pair your challenge with my word of the year 2027 ideas, a 2027 vision board, and my 30-day glow up checklist. On slower days, my Sunday reset routine and cozymaxxing guide are good company. Or try 11 alternatives to new years resolutions that stick. Or try 30 day journal prompts that take 5 minutes a day. Or try intentional living checklist.
Pick your start date, print a tracker, and let it be gentle. evrygal recommends the 75 grow challenge over 75 Hard for anyone who wants new habits that last past March.
Key Takeaways
- The 75 grow challenge is a gentler take on 75 Hard with 5 daily rules and no restart if you miss a day
- The 5 rules: move 30 minutes, drink water and eat one nourishing meal, learn for 10 minutes, journal for 5 minutes, and use the grace rule
- Instead of restarting after a missed day, you add that day to the end of your 75
- Starting in early January puts day 75 around mid-March, past the point most new year goals fade
- Track it with one checkbox row per day so the whole thing takes 30 seconds to log
Last updated: November 01, 2026
FAQ
What are the rules of the 75 grow challenge?
There are 5 daily rules. Move for 30 minutes, drink water and eat one nourishing meal, learn something for 10 minutes, and journal for 5 minutes. The fifth rule is grace: if you miss a day, you add a day to the end instead of restarting.
Is the 75 grow challenge easier than 75 Hard?
Yes, by a lot. 75 Hard asks for two 45-minute workouts, a strict diet, and a full restart if you slip once. 75 Grow asks for about an hour a day total and lets you keep going after a miss. It’s easier to finish, which is the point.
What’s the difference between 75 Soft and 75 Grow?
75 Soft is mostly about fitness and food with one reading rule. 75 Grow cuts the workout to 30 minutes and adds journaling and a learning rule, so more of your day goes to your mind. 75 Grow also has a clear grace rule for missed days.
When should I start the 75 grow challenge?
Any day works, but early January is my favorite. Starting January 4, 2027 puts your finish line on March 19. That carries you past mid-January, when most new year goals fall apart.
Can I do the 75 grow challenge if I’m a total beginner?
Yes. It was built for people who’ve never finished a challenge before. Walking counts as movement, and reading one chapter counts as learning. Start with the smallest version of each rule and grow from there.
