Mental
Protocols for sleep, stress, focus and mood — wind-down routines, breathing practices, worry windows — each with the mechanism and the research summarised.
Talk It Over with Someone You Trust
Pick one person you trust and tell them how you are feeling — the NHS Every Mind Matters guide on naming trusted people in advance and opening the conversation.
Loving-Kindness Meditation — 10 min
Hold someone you love in mind and silently wish them well, then extend the same wishes to yourself, a neutral person, and eventually someone difficult.
Focus on What You Can Act on Today
When change or uncertainty feels overwhelming, shrink the time frame to today: write down one thing you can act on now, and leave the rest for later.
Energy Battery — Plan Enjoyable Time into the Week
Sketch your week and colour-code each activity as routine, necessary or enjoyable, then check that enjoyable ones actually made the list.
Pet Time — 10 min, Phone Down
Ten focused minutes a day with an animal, phone away — NIH links animal contact to lower cortisol, lower blood pressure and less loneliness.
Gardening Session — Weekly, Hands in the Soil
Book one gardening session a week — pots, an allotment, or houseplants — and keep it fixed on the calendar.
Learn a New Skill — One Session a Week
Pick a skill you have never tried that asks something of your brain, and book one practice session a week for it.
Step Away from the Desk — A Real Work Break
Build short breaks into the working day and step away from the task for them — the NHS names breaks as a healthy work boundary.
Resilience Check — Four Keys, Once a Week
Once a week, write one concrete action under each of the APA's four resilience components: connection, wellness, healthy thinking and meaning.
Digital Sunset Protocol
Put every screen away for the last 90 minutes before bed and replace it with a printed book or light stretching — evening screen light suppresses melatonin and pushes the body clock later.
Say No — Sleep on Every New Commitment
Before saying yes to any new commitment, wait a day and check it against your current obligations and priorities — take it on only if it genuinely matters to you.
Guided Imagery — 10 min
Ten minutes of picturing a calm place sense by sense is a relaxation skill that works better practised regularly than saved for a bad day.