I believe three months is the perfect amount of time to lock yourself in, make some meaningful changes in your life, and actually see the difference those changes can make.
Remember: nothing changes if nothing changes.
If you’re tired of being stuck in the same spiral and your life feels bland and meaningless, give yourself 3 months.
Just 3 months.
Experiment with your life during these three months.
Do what you have to do.
Do what you would love to do.
And do the things you may not particularly enjoy, but know you should do because they will take you closer to your goals and aspirations.
At some point, it’s all you and your decisions.
You have to be able to tell yourself, “Enough is enough. I am not going to waste my life and ruin my potential anymore. I want to live fully. I want to see what I’m capable of. And I’m going to give myself a real chance.”
But also, I want you to remember,
Don’t look at yourself as a project to fix.
You are already whole. You are already complete.
It’s only the negative habits and negative mindset that you have to get rid of or carve out of you, and what remains is beautifully you.
You are already who you want to be.
You’re simply trying to bring that person to the surface.
And maybe three months is all you need to begin.
And how do you do it?
You lock in.
What Does It Mean to Lock In?
Table of Contents
“Lock in” basically means deciding to focus intensely on something for a period of time and stop letting distractions pull you away from it.
It’s a recent internet slang term, but the idea is actually pretty simple:
You stop talking about what you want to do and start consistently doing it.
You don’t have to work 12 hours a day, stop seeing friends, or completely disappear from the world.
Although it would be great if you could deactivate or stay away from your social media as much as you can.
But a healthy version of locking in is more like:
“For the next 90 days, I’m going to stop getting in my own way and give myself a real chance to see what happens when I stay consistent.”
Pin To Save:
How to Lock In for 3 Months and Change Your Life
Okay, so you’ve decided to lock yourself in for 3 months.
You’ve decided to stay away from social media, distractions and the things that keep pulling you away from your goals and aspirations.
But now, without constantly using social media, without constantly distracting yourself, what do you do in these 3 months?
Well, here’s the plan.
1. You Set Your Lock-In Rules
For 90 days, create a few non-negotiable lock-in rules for yourself.
These are the things you commit to doing, or not doing, regardless of whether you feel motivated that day.
They could be:
- Waking up early
- No phone for the first 60 minutes of the day
- 10–20 minutes of meditation, prayer, or quiet time
- Reading 10–30 pages
- Moving your body for 20–30 minutes
- Deciding your Top 3 priorities for the day
- Spending 2–4 hours doing genuinely focused work, depending on your schedule
- Going to bed at a consistent time
But you don’t have to follow my rules.
Decide what your rules are.
Ask yourself:
What are the one or two habits I need to stop because I know they’re holding me back?
And then ask:
What are the one or two habits I could start that would make a meaningful difference to my life?
You don’t need ten new habits.
Simply identify the few habits that have a ripple effect on everything else in your life.
For example, for me, waking up early is a really important habit because it sets the tone for everything else I want to do that day.
When I wake up early, I have time to journal, read, write, exercise, and ease into my day instead of constantly feeling like I’m running behind.
If I don’t wake up early, I don’t have time for any of these, and I go about my day feeling like a Zombie.
Another one is exercise.
When I exercise, I feel more energetic, motivated and positive throughout the day.
I’m also much more likely to make better choices with my food, my work and how I spend my time.
These are also called keystone habits, habits that create a ripple effect and make other positive behaviours easier to maintain.
So instead of asking yourself, “What are all the things I should be doing?”, ask:
“What are the few things that, if I consistently did them, would make everything else a little easier?”
But remember, you don’t need to do any of this perfectly.
Don’t let your perfect expectations of yourself ruin this for you.
You will fail and do it badly, but keep going.
Do at least one thing and remember something is better than nothing.
You’re not trying to create a flawless 90-day streak.
You’re trying to create a life where your default day is a good day.
2. You Get On a Visual Deficit
For 90 days, you step away for a little while.
Be on a visual deficit.
This means you strictly stop constantly scrolling through social media, watching aimless YouTube videos and getting all the information about everyone or everything else.
You don’t have to disappear completely or cut everyone off.
You simply put your phone down and become a little harder to reach.
The goal is to just step away from the noise and notice the difference.
For the next three months, stop worrying about what everyone else is doing.
Stop comparing your timeline to someone else’s.
Stop posting everything on Instagram, Snapchat, or on Instants.
They are meant to suck you into the rabbit hole.
For 90 days, notice the quiet this brings.
Try keeping some things private.
Let your goals, routines and little wins be private.
Live your life without needing an audience.
And what do you do with all the time that gets saved by not using social media or constantly scrolling?
Here are a few things:
- Get into the habit of reading. Read two books in a month.
- Go on a walk
- Journal
- Declutter your wardrobe
- Declutter your phone
- Exercise
- Meditate
- Memorize mantras
- Paint
- Pick a hobby
- Call your friend
- Bake something
- Learn something new
- Write down your goals and intentions
- Take a nap
- P.S Fun Things to Do Instead of Scrolling
- How to Spend Your Day Off Meaningfully
- Me-Time Ideas to Spend with Yourself
3. You Pick ONE major goal
What is the one thing you really want to change over the next three months?
Maybe it’s your career.
Maybe it’s your finances.
Maybe it’s getting your health back on track.
Maybe you want to write a book.
Maybe you want to finally finish something you’ve been talking about for years.
Choose one. Not ten.
One.
You can still work, exercise, take care of your home and have a social life.
But give one goal the majority of your extra energy.
Imagine what could happen if you gave one meaningful project your attention for 90 days instead of constantly jumping between new things to focus on.
- P.S. How to Set Goals The Right Way
- A Simple Practice to Help You Find Your Goals
- Forget Your Goals. Focus on This Instead
4. You Make Your Mornings Sacred
In these three months that you lock in, make your mornings sacred.
Wake up at a consistent time in the morning.
You need not wake up at 5 am. Even 6 am is fine if that allows you to give at least one hour or so for yourself in the morning.
If you are in the habit of waking up with your phone and checking it first thing in the morning, stop that immediately.
Here are other toxic morning habits that need to stop.
Then inculcate some good morning habits.
Make it your lock-in rule to spend the first 60-90 minutes of your morning with yourself without your phone.
Decide your morning rituals.
Mine includes journaling, writing for the blog, reading for half an hour and exercise.
Choose yours.
P.S. Here are 4 Things To Do In The Morning Before the World Gets Your Attention
5. You do a digital detox without disappearing from the internet
You don’t need to deactivate Instagram, though you can if you don’t have a problem.
I too had chosen to deactivate Instagram for almost two months and felt so much at peace, and I occasionally do this.
Also, whenever I stay away from social media, I don’t even miss it.
But when it’s active, it’s like your hands automatically reach for those apps every passing minute.
And this needs to stop. Stop letting our phone dictate our attention.
So try:
Social media windows
12:30–1:00 PM
6:00–7:30 PM
When using social media, only use social media.
These days I only use Instagram for a little time during my work and strictly don’t use it after coming home.
My time in the evening is for other things.
That’s it.
No checking every 15 minutes.
And create a simple rule:
Create before you consume.
Before Pinterest → create something.
Before Instagram → finish your important work.
Before YouTube → complete your priority.
This can completely change how your days feel.
And surprisingly, so much gets done.
6. You Get Serious About Your Body
How is your relationship with your body?
Do you feel the best in your body right now?
Do you do any physical movement in your day?
If not, then I seriously ask you to consider being thoughtful about your body.
Also, another tip: if you find yourself needing motivation to exercise, know that the motivation comes from exercise, not the other way around.
I always find myself more motivated and inspired after a good workout and find many other people saying so.
You don’t have to punish your body for these 3 months.
I want you to just love it and be thoughtful about your body.
Eat healthy food and get some movement in your body every day through any means that you enjoy.
- Go for walks every day and take 5k to 10k steps.
- Do Yoga, Pilates, Zumba, go to the gym or anything, but get your body involved.
And the main intention behind this?
It should not be to lose weight or gain weight.
Simply exercise and move your body because it is good for your body.
Then you will start enjoying it without feeling like nothing is happening.
And once you start enjoying it, you are more likely to stay consistent.
Every movement, every exercise counts.
Earlier, I used to go to the gym, but these days I am enjoying at-home workouts and following Move with Nicole on YouTube.
Her Pilates and workout style really matches my pace, and it has made good changes in my body.
P.S. Here is an article you’d like to read: How I Made Myself Love Working Out
7. You Protect Your Evenings
Your evenings matter more than you think.
I’ve found that evenings are often the time when we slip back into our old habits because the day is over and we suddenly feel like we have nothing to do.
So we pick up our phones, start scrolling, watch random videos, order something we don’t need, and suddenly it’s midnight.
For these 90 days, try protecting your evenings.
By this I don’t mean that every hour has to be spent in some self-improving way.
You are allowed to have nothing to do.
You are allowed to be bored.
You are allowed to also waste your time.
But even if you waste your time, waste it slowly and intentionally.
Let your boredom not automatically turn into scrolling.
Instead, try to ease into the evening and keep it spacious, slow and enriching.
P.S. Here are Simple Things to Do for a Slow and Cozy Evening
8. Make your environment support the person you’re becoming
Our surroundings matter enormously.
If your room is always messy and cluttered, your mind cannot feel peaceful and at ease either.
It just can’t.
Make your environment support you in the person you are becoming.
Look at your room. Look at your home.
This is where you spend most of your time being yourself.
No pretending. No performing.
Your home sees you truly as you are.
But how do you feel about your home? About your room?
You don’t need a Pinterest-perfect apartment.
You only need an environment that makes you feel good and supported.
So during your first week, declutter.
Declutter your:
- wardrobe
- desk
- bathroom
- phone
- laptop
- email inbox
- Pinterest boards
- Instagram following
- unnecessary subscriptions
P.S. Most people skip decluttering, but I truly believe decluttering is so essential.
I don’t want you to skip it. You can read 10 Reasons Why You Need to Declutter.
Notice how you feel after decluttering.
Then make some changes to your room or home.
Even just shifting your table from one place to another brings in good energy.
Also, always make your bed in the morning. It has an enormous effect on our mood and what we accomplish in the day.
Put your journal on your desk.
Keep your yoga mat visible.
Keep your exercise clothes out the night before.
Keep books where you’ll actually read them.
Keep your phone away from your bed.
The goal is to make the healthy choice easy and less thinkable.
9. Become financially boring
You don’t have to become wealthy in 90 days.
But you can become aware.
If you have any dues to give, make a list of all the money you owe- the big and the small.
You don’t have to have a plan to repay them now, but just be aware.
Then, as you keep earning, start with the lowest amount due and try to repay it as soon as you can.
For the next three months, also track where your money goes.
Every coffee.
Every online order.
Every subscription.
Every impulse purchase.
Not to shame yourself.
Just to understand yourself.
At the end of each week, look at your spending and ask:
“Did my money go where I actually wanted it to go?”
Start saving something.
Start investing if that’s appropriate for you.
Read books about personal finance and learn about wealth building.
Work on building good habits for financial freedom.
10. Become emotionally Calmer
Lastly, work on your emotional regulation.
This one may actually change your life more than productivity.
Your goal isn’t:
“I will never get angry.”
It’s:
“I will stop allowing temporary emotions to make permanent decisions.”
When you’re triggered:
STOP.
S — Stop talking/acting.
T — Take space. Breathe. Walk.
O — Observe what you’re feeling. Write it down if you can
P — Proceed only when you’re regulated.
No serious conversations while you’re flooded with anger.
No dramatic texts.
No revenge behaviour.
No impulsive decisions.
Give yourself 20–30 minutes minimum to come back down.
Come back when you can actually respond instead of simply reacting.
Then communicate.
You don’t have to stop having emotions.
You just need to stop letting every emotion make your decisions for you.
Final Thoughts: Never Miss Twice
This is the rule that will keep you from quitting.
You are going to have bad days.
You will oversleep, eat something you didn’t plan to eat.
You’ll spend an afternoon scrolling or skip a workout.
You’ll have an unproductive day, and you’ll lose your motivation.
That’s normal.
Don’t always expect a perfect day.
Don’t let perfectionism ruin your consistency.
I love the simple rule:
Never miss twice.
If you missed on Monday, come back Tuesday.
Ate terribly at lunch? Make a nourishing dinner.
Didn’t work today? Do one focused hour tomorrow.
You don’t need to start your life over every Monday.
Just return to your ideal as quickly as possible.
And please remember this,
You’re Changing Your Life Not To Become a New You, but to become the True You.
Its okay if maybe you’ve wasted the last six months or even the last few years.
Stop cursing yourself in your path to self improvement.
You will need self-kindness and compassion more than anything on this journey.
You are still allowed to begin as many times as you can.
You have time.
Pin to Save:
You Might Also Like:
Leave a Reply