Become a Bard Challenge: Month 7 Summary
How Was Month 7?
Month 7 of the Become a Bard Challenge spanned from 31 December 2024 to 29 January 2025. It was a rough yet insightful month of self improvement. The intense winter chill that swept through the North American desert where I live made it difficult to maintain motivation to do even the tiniest tasks. I am an Indigenous Pacific Islander who saw snow for the first time less than a week before my 24th birthday—I am not naturally drawn to the cold—but having a 2 year-old German shepherd who just cannot get enough of the snow definitely helped me find the motivation to go outside and function in the freezing temperatures.
Month 7 Final Score: 496/600
A 30-day period within the Become a Bard Challenge is considered a success if I earn at least 480 of 600 total possible points, or a grade of 80%. In Month 7, daily points were earned by meeting goals across 5 categories: (1) 4 points for sleep; (2) 2 points each for music practice and language study; (3) 2 points each for reading and writing; (4) 4 points rigorous exercise; and (5) 4 points for drinking water. After 30 days, I could earn up to 120 points in each category. The points from all categories can tally to 600 total points every month.
My final score for Month 7 of the BAB Challenge is 496, which is approximately 83%. A breakdown of each category is given below.
Sleep: 120/120 (100%)
I was able to get 7 hours of sleep every night in Month 7 of the BAB Challenge! Considering the poo-poo tsunami (the “poonami”) that was the sociopolitical reality of the mainland United States in January 2025, I am amazed. This score caused me to double-check and triple-check my BAB Challenge spreadsheet and notes to make sure I was seeing this correctly. Not every one of those nights produced good quality sleep, thanks to the poonami, but I am grateful that I was able to have enough hours of sleep.
Music Practice or Language Study: 46/60 (77%) for Music Practice, 38/60 (63) for Language Study
In the music practice subcategory, I was able to practice music for 15 minutes in 23 of the 30 days in Month 7. Music practice included studying music notation, studying music theory, and practicing with a musical instrument.
In the language study subcategory, I was able to study language for 15 minutes in 19 of the 30 days in Month 7. Language study included completing language exercises, translating songs, listening to music, and watching movies and TV shows in Chamorro, Navajo, Spanish, or German.
Reading or Writing: 60/60 (100%) for Reading, 44/60 (73%) for Writing
In the reading subcategory, I listened to books every day in Month 7 of the BAB Challenge! Reading has long been my form of escapism, which came in handy this past month in dealing with the poonami that was January 2025. In the order I finished them, the seven books I read in the past 30 days include: (1) The Memory Librarian by Janelle Monáe; (2) Looking for Alaska by John Green; (3) 100 Days of Sunlight by Abbie Emmons; (4) Scarlet by Marissa Meyer; (5) The Whisper Man by Alex North; (6) Cress by Marissa Meyer; and (7) The Shadows by Alex North. Check out my reviews for The Memory Librarian and Scarlet in the Sci-Fi bookshelf, Looking for Alaska in the Fiction bookshelf, 100 Days of Sunlight in the Romance bookshelf. Reviews for Cress, The Whisper Man, and The Shadows are forthcoming.
In the writing subcategory, I wrote 500 words in 22 of the 30 days in Month 7. The types of writing I count towards this subcategory includes creative writing, blogging, and journaling. I feel happy about the amount of time I spent writing this past month. Going forward, I think it would be good for me to take note of the specific type of writing I did in a given day. I want to make sure I make progress on my novel manuscript and am spending a good amount of my writing energy on that goal.
Rigorous Exercise: 92/120 (77%)
I committed to at least 25 minutes of rigorous exercise for 23 of the 30 days in Month 7 of the BAB Challenge. Rigorous exercise included yoga or HIIT routines at home, going to the gym, climbing, hiking, or taking my dog for a long walk. I am happy with the amount of exercise I was able to complete in this past month.
Drink Water: 96/120 (80%)
I drank 24 oz. of water for 24 of the 30 days in Month 7 of the BAB Challenge. In addition to drinking plain water, I include drinking water with flavor additives and seltzer water towards this category.
Month 7 Takeaways
The categories and subcategories I consistently do well in every month are Sleep, Reading, and Drink Water while the category I consistently score the lowest in are Music Practice/Language Study. This is a bit of a problem considering that I am calling this entire experiment the “Become a Bard” Challenge. I want to move the focus back to that roots of this challenge. For that reason, I will remove the Sleep and Drink Water categories. Being that I have consistently done well in both categories, I am confident that I will still be able to get enough sleep and drink enough water every day. There will still be five categories to earn daily points in. But the spread of those categories will look a little different.
Expectations for Month 8
Month 8 will span from 30 January to 28 February 2025. The daily goals of each category for Month 8 are listed below.
Music Practice: 20 minutes
Language Study: 20 minutes
Writing: 500 words
Reading: 30 minutes
Exercise: 30 minutes
Dångkulo' na' saina ma'åse'! Thank you so much for reading the Month 7 Summary of the BAB Challenge!
BABC Category Cheat Sheet. Each category earns 4 points.
Music Practice: Music practice includes studying music notation and music theory as well as playing an instrument or voice practice.
Language Study: Going through exercises, translating songs, listening to music, and watching movies or TV shows all qualify towards language study.
Writing: Writing includes creative writing, blogging, and journaling.
Reading: Physical copies, digital editions, and audiobooks of published works all count towards reading.
Exercise: Whether it is yoga or other routines at home, going to the gym, or a long walk outside with my dog, I will move with intent every day.
Post Date: 3 February 2025
