It’s the start of a new year and coming back from a break can be a tough transition. Couple that with the seemingly never-ending “new year, new me” posts and it’s no wonder we can start to feel overwhelmed.

For us, January needs to be all about going easy on your human. We’ve been easing back into the work groove and holding firm on trying not to do too much too soon. Even this blog post is a little later in the month than it usually is… and that’s completely fine!

We would like to set you an awesome 10 Day Challenge for a happier 2023!

This is a 10 (working) day challenge of achievable, productive tasks that look after the most important thing in your life – your human.

You can follow us on LinkedIn or Facebook from January 16th when we will be kicking off Day 1. See how we are getting on, shout up if you need any inspiration… and do please share your progress with the challenge too!

Ready?

Day 1: Create a morning routine that works for you.

Humans are creatures of habit – if you haven’t carved out your routine now’s your chance to figure out what works for you. I’m not going to tell you to do 15 minutes of mindfulness each morning… if that’s your vibe, that’s cool – just remember, little things done consistently can make the biggest changes. For me, I’m necking a glass of water when I wake up. That’s it. Small, manageable and unashamedly unambitious.

Day 2: Put together a kickass motivational playlist.

I have a playlist for running and yes, its full of cheesy songs I can sing along to because that makes me happy. This year, I’m making a playlist for those moments when I need a little pick me up, not to get me to up my running pace but to spur me on during worktime when that 3pm lull kicks in.

Day 3: Plan for the goals you want to achieve this year.

Business planning is a big job and this isn’t the place to get into it. However, it is important to make the time to connect with yourself and often our personal to do lists get sidelined for the business stuff.

So whether your goal is to read more, exercise more, switch your phone off more or learn how to build things out of matchsticks, plan it into your calendar. Make a realistic goal to help you get there.

That could be to start going to your local parkrun on a Saturday, read a chapter a day of that book you started 6 months ago or make Thursday nights a TV free evening; just make it reasonable, realistic, plan it in and tell people about it!

Day 4: Declutter your workspace.

If your desk is a Zen masters dream, kudos to you. If its anything like mine, it could handle some TLC. Finish an hour early today, grab some Mr Sheen and sort it out. It’ll look awesome (at least for 20 minutes) and you’ll feel great.

If you need to declutter your head and organise your productivity, we love Trello and Asana to put what’s in our heads into a more sensible place.

Day 5: Connect with people around you.

Family, friends, your neighbours… building social connections and feeling close to someone is hugely important for your human so give someone a call, write to someone you’ve not seen in ages, reach out into the world and connect.

Day 6: Be active.

Do something active. Go for a walk, a run, jump on your bike, go for a swim, play a game, stay inside and dance in your kitchen – whatever your fitness or mobility level, take some time today to move that body and get active.

If your body was a car, you could never afford it. Don’t let it get rusty just sitting in that chair.

Day 7: Take notice and be curious.

Now I’m not encouraging and curtain twitching (don’t be THAT person), but take a moment in your day to savour something.

Sit and look out the window and really look at what’s going on. Put yourself in the moment, listen to your heart beating, hear your breathing, the blood in your ears.

Taking notice of what is taking place in the present moment and having heightened awareness enhances your self-understanding and allows you to make choices in line with your own values, which we think is pretty cool.

Day 8: Learn something new.

It doesn’t have to be a new language or mastering mechanical engineering but learning new things has been proven to make you more confident, not to mention helpful in pub quizzes. One of the places we love to gaze at interesting information is a place called Information is Beautiful.

Day 9: Give.

Do something nice for someone else. It may just be smiling at someone as you walk past them, a cheery “morning!” when you’re walking the dog or going the whole hog and joining a volunteering group… whatever it is, giving something of yourself can be incredibly rewarding and creates connections with people around you.

Day 10: Celebrate your awesomeness!

If you make it to Day 10 of the challenge, your final task is to tell yourself how amazing you are.

Truly, your human is special, curious, unique and wonderful.

Do something nice, just for you. Guilt free – you’ve totally earned it.

As you can see, our challenge is simple, achievable and will make you feel great - so why not share it with your teams and get everyone doing 10 great things for a happier start to 2023?!

Our focus on going easy on your human is rooted in good mental health. If you are interested in attending a Mental Health First Aid Course, you can book onto Colin’s next training date - hooray!

Mental Health First Aid