This morning I met with a client to discuss upkeep of the blog and Facebook page I set up for her. I cringed as I heard myself tell her to blog at least once a week. Who am I to give out such advice when I don’t follow it myself? My last blog post is 2 weeks old. Just a few hours later I told a good friend to stop stressing about whether she’ll snag a job interview for her dream gig even though I’m frequently guilty of fretting over things out of my control.

I’ve learned I’m mighty good at dishing out great advice … and really lousy at following it myself. Something tells me I’m not alone in this. (More marketing/designer types than I can count have told me they put their own websites/blogs/one-sheets/social media/etc. last on their to-do lists.) Just imagine how the world might be different if we all practiced what we preached.

So, I’m proposing a challenge. Tomorrow begins a new month, and a perfect opportunity for setting new goals. If you’ve ever said, “do as I say, not as I do,” join me in making a change. Here’s the plan:

1. For at least one week, write down every recommendation you make to a friend or client. No judgment—just jot it down. Ask your friends to point out when you are giving good advice so you remember to take note.
2. Once you have a decent list going, sit down somewhere quiet for an hour to analyze your findings. If needed, group similar items and separate professional from personal. How are you doing at following your own advice? Take pride in what you do well, and note the areas where you fall short.
3. Create a bulleted list of all the advice/recommendations you give others that can apply to your own life. Make it look pretty and tape it to your mirror, computer, car dashboard—wherever you’ll see it. Or put it on your phone so you can pull it up at anytime.
4. Spend the last 2-3 weeks of June doing as you say. Read your list each morning (and as needed throughout the day) to keep your words of wisdom top of mind. At the end of each day, review them again and see how you did and think about how you can improve the next day.

Sound interesting? Join me in this challenge and let’s see what happens. I’d love to hear your thoughts about this idea and, if you decide to give this experiment a shot, get your feedback on what you discover about yourself by trying to practice what you preach.