This year the productivity culture bug got me. You know the one. You catch yourself side-eyeing your own life because an influencer remodeled an entire bathroom in seven days. Social media does that thing where everyone else looks effortlessly on top of things. Glowing kitchens. Colour coded planners. Before and afters that happen faster than my coffee cools down.

Somewhere between being told to optimize my mornings and monetize my hobbies I started feeling like rest needed justification. Like relaxing had to earn its place on the schedule. Countless hours of productivity videos on YouTube certainly did not help. The underlying message always seems to be the same, if you are not improving, fixing or upgrading, you are falling behind.

I caught myself constantly thinking I should be doing more. Better. Faster.

It is exhausting.

Then I came across this list floating around the internet. I have no idea who wrote it but I would very much like to hug them. Five days a month. You deliberately schedule time to be with yourself. Time to nurture your inner child, your mental health, your space and your future self.

So, if productivity culture insists that relaxation must be scheduled, scheduled it shall be.

In the words of the very wise Ferris Bueller, “life moves pretty fast. If you do not stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

This is my resolution for 2026.

Unplug Day

Twenty four hours with no technology. Sounds dramatic. And yet I cannot wait to try it. Pretend it is 1993. Go to the beach. Read a book. Bake a cake. Fix that cabinet door that has been driving you insane for the past five years.

Our brains were not designed to process a thousand inputs a day. Unplugging once a month feels less like deprivation and more like maintenance. Like dusting the attic. Everything feels clearer and brighter the next day.

Solitary Day

This one is my favourite. A day where no one annoys you. No expectations. No compromises. Just you deciding what the day looks like from morning to night.

A spa day at home sounds like heaven. Hair mask. Nails. A facial. Prim and pamper like there is no tomorrow.

Solitary does not mean lonely. It means uninterrupted. It means it is your day, so you do what you want. Read. Walk. Eat. Write. Nap. Go shopping. Rearrange furniture for no reason. Treat yourself like you actually matter.

Reset Day

This one is unglamorous, but deeply satisfying. Cleaning. Organising. Decluttering. Not just your physical space but the digital one too. Opening the tabs you have been avoiding. Deleting. Unsubscribing. Checking finances. Booking appointments. Finishing the tasks that live rent free in your head.

It is incredible how much mental space is reclaimed once these loose ends are tied up. Clarity often comes after order, not before it.

Learning Day

So many of us treat curiosity like a luxury. This day is a reminder that growth is ongoing. Take a course. Read something challenging. Learn a new skill. Go to the library. Pick up a hobby purely for the joy of it, with no intention of monetizing yourself.

Knowledge changes how you move through the world. One day a month is enough to keep that door open.

Play Day

Screw adulthood. It sucks.

Go be a kid again. Do something pointless. Something physical. Something joyful. Ride a bike. Rollerblade. Get your hands dirty. Start a food fight. Have a sleepover. Watch cartoons. Eat cake for breakfast. Laugh loudly.

Five days. No spreadsheets. No colour coding. A structured approach to doing absolutely unremarkable things on purpose. If that is not peak personal development, I do not know what is.