Late last year I had been doing a lot of reading around parenting and mindfulness and realised there were aspects of maintaining a positive outlook that I found quite difficult. For a lot of years I have been an avid follower of the Action for Happiness movement, particularly their excellent information leaflets and posters for developing a happier outlook.

It was with interest that I read about their Do Happiness tool kit with Do Something Different, a 32 day happiness programme designed around your own needs to guide you through a range of actions via email or text to explore and boost your own happiness.

At £15 for a 6 week programme and the option of joining a waiting list if you cannot afford to pay, and the option of buying as a gift there are a range of accessible options for getting started.

I have just completed my six week course. My personal programme was designed around anxiety, and the programme is clear it is not a clinical intervention but a complementary one, it was a good time for me to start as I have been receiving some therapy in this area.

Each day I received two emails, a daily DO activity and an appropriate quote to guide and encourage.

Each day I logged into my personalised Do Zone and left feedback on the activity, I was asked if I completed the Do activity, to rate how different it was and rate my enjoyment, leaving some personal feedback with the option of sharing with others.

I thoroughly recommend getting involved in all aspects including sharing and reading the feedback left by others as it gave new perspectives I hadn’t considered, and as people shared their interests and things they enjoyed it sparked new ideas for me.

The daily activities were varied and enjoyable, from turning off the TV for an evening, or replacing a chore with an enjoyable activity, to complimenting a friend or asking someone what had gone well for them that day, the tasks were achievable and bite-sized but pack a punch when followed on a daily basis.

I found that towards the end of the programme I opened up more when others asked how I was doing, and was more interested and less self-involved when talking to others.

I also realised that I found it challenging to do the tasks that were focussed around letting go of unhelpful habits, for example I found it difficult to replace a chore as I have been finding it difficult to relax lately, and the programme helped me recognise this and try to ease off a little.

Six weeks was a good chunk of time in which I’ve made some really positive changes and I enjoyed the new challenges and interests that the programme sparked each day, I’m feeling a bit more reinvigorated and have learned a lot about myself, positive outcomes considering I had been feeling more than a little flat and feel that with the guide of the programme I’ve achieved much of this for and by myself.

So why not Do Something different today?

The programme entry page can be found here

Disclaimer – I received a complimentary sign up to review the programme