The library

Twenty minutes lying down, awake, is not a failure to sleep; it is a practice of its own.

2 min

What to do in the small hours when sleep has gone and the ceiling is not helping.

3 min

One fixed time to get up, weekends included, does more for a ragged night than any perfect bedtime.

5 min

An hour that gets slowly quieter, dimmer and duller, so sleep has somewhere to land.

10 min

Fifteen minutes spent on the bedroom itself: a little cooler, a little darker, a little quieter.

15 min

A plan for the middle of the night, made in the daytime, so you are not making decisions at three in the morning.

5 min

Twenty minutes, before mid-afternoon, with an alarm: a nap that takes the edge off without stealing the night.

20 min

Coffee and tea keep working for hours after the cup is empty. One cut-off time, chosen once, protects the night.

5 min

A few lines each morning for two weeks shows what is really happening at night, and gives a doctor something to work with.

5 min

Ten minutes moving your attention from your toes to the top of your head, so the mind has somewhere quiet to go.

10 min

A hospital chair, a relative's spare room, a hotel bed: a few small things in one bag can make a strange night easier.

15 min

Snoring, cold feet, different bedtimes: a calm daytime talk about how you share the night, so both of you sleep better.

20 min

A protected wind-down on the way home and a dark, quiet room can make daytime sleep easier.

10 min

The out-breath is the body's own signal that nothing needs fighting right now; three of them take under a minute.

2 min

Waiting rooms are where the slow breath earns its place: nowhere to go, nothing to do, and everything to think about.

3 min

Worries written down at nine o'clock are much quieter at two.

3 min

Putting a word to a feeling turns it down a notch; it is one of the oldest findings about the mind and one of the easiest to use.

3 min

Naming one good thing from the day, before sleep, is a small habit with a long reach.

3 min

Give worry one appointment a day, so it does not have to follow you everywhere else.

15 min

A three-minute way back into the room when your thoughts have run ahead of you.

3 min

Two minutes of breathing out a little longer than you breathe in, before the next hard thing.

2 min

When the inner voice turns harsh, try talking to yourself the way you would talk to a friend in the same spot.

5 min

When everything feels too much, choose one task so small it is almost silly, do it, and notice that you did.

5 min

Written on a good day, read on a hard one: a short list of the people, places and small acts that tend to bring you back.

15 min

Folding laundry, peeling vegetables, sorting buttons: a simple task done slowly and on purpose can settle a crowded mind.

15 min

Three small actions at the end of work that tell your mind the day is done, so it is less likely to follow you home.

5 min

Five minutes at the end of the working week to notice how work is sitting with you, so a hard stretch does not quietly become too much.

10 min

After leave, illness, caring or a long gap, a gentler first week, planned ahead, can make returning easier.

15 min

Twenty minutes outside, at your own pace, with no destination, is the most reliable reset most of us own.

3 min

Movement for the days when you cannot leave the house, the room, or the chair by the bed.

3 min

Feet, back, screen and eyes: four quick checks that can make long hours at a desk easier on the body.

5 min

Good shoes, small movements on shift and ten minutes with your feet up afterwards can ease long days on your feet.

10 min

Five slow shapes on the floor by the brightest window you have, in ten minutes, with nothing to prove.

10 min

Ten minutes out of the door and back, and the only rule is that you do not hurry.

10 min

Padel, table tennis, a kickabout in the park: an hour of play with people you like is movement, and it counts.

60 min

Twenty minutes on two wheels, on a quiet Sunday road or path, at the speed of looking around.

20 min

The three minutes you wait for the kettle are enough for four slow stretches, standing at the counter.

3 min

Twenty minutes in a park, garden, wood or by water, a few times a week, at whatever pace suits you.

20 min

Swimming, bowls, tennis, tai chi or a beginners' run: one try, with no promise of more.

60 min

A walk with a small mission: a view, a type of tree, a bench you have never sat on.

30 min

A match on television or at a local club, shared with someone, as a reason to be together.

90 min

Getting up from a chair is a strength exercise in disguise. Ten slow ones a day keep the legs ready for the stairs, the bath and the bus.

5 min

One hand on the kitchen counter, one foot lifted, thirty seconds a side: balance is a skill, and it can be practised while the toast is in.

2 min

When one episode ends and the next one is about to start, stand up. Three minutes of moving before you press play.

3 min

The stairs you already have are a small gym. One extra flight, climbed slowly with a hand on the rail, a few times a day.

5 min

Put on one song you love and move to it, however you like, until it ends. Nobody is watching.

4 min

Two chairs facing each other and ten minutes of simple seated moves, for someone you care for and for you.

10 min

The next long phone call, put on a coat and take it outside, or walk up and down the hall. Talking is easier on the move.

20 min

A group that walks at a set time from a set place, at a pace for everyone: the route is planned, the company is free.

60 min

Water holds you up, so it is kind to sore joints. Twenty minutes of slow swimming, walking in the shallow end or a gentle class.

40 min

Free community events in many parks: a set distance on the same morning each week, where walkers are as welcome as runners.

60 min

A ball, a patch of grass and someone to throw it to. No rules, no score, twenty minutes of play.

20 min

Digging, weeding and watering are real exercise, done outside with other people and something to show for it.

60 min

Grey, drizzly, cold: dress for it and go out for twenty minutes. Weather is rarely as bad from outside as it looks through the window.

20 min

Every sports club runs on people who keep score, make tea, mark lines and drive the kids. One hour is welcome.

60 min

On a clear night, go outside, let your eyes adjust for ten minutes, and look up. The outdoors at night is a different place.

20 min

When home is also the office, a short walk before you start, and one real voice each day, can keep the days from blurring.

10 min

People want to help and do not know how; a specific ask is the kindest thing you can give them.

3 min

The week after a serious diagnosis has its own weather; here is what to hold and what to let go.

3 min

When you are listening for someone all night, the aim is rest you can trust, not sleep you cannot.

3 min

Food that takes no cooking, no planning and no washing up, for the weeks when you are feeding someone else first.

3 min

A bag packed and by the door takes one decision out of the worst hour.

3 min

Children notice more than we think and imagine worse than we tell them; plain, honest words, offered often, are what keep them safe.

4 min

You can grieve someone who is still here; it has a name, and it is not disloyalty.

3 min

The hours between midnight and six have their own rules, for the one who sits up.

3 min

The caregiver's own health is the one thing the whole house is standing on, and the first thing that gets cancelled.

3 min

You are allowed to say who comes and when; here are words that keep the door kind and the house quiet.

3 min

Writing down what happened each week is how a long illness stops blurring, for you and for the people who help.

4 min

Illness makes people angry, and the anger lands on whoever is closest, which is you; here is how to stand in it without being knocked over.

3 min

Caregivers get angry, at the illness, at the person, at everyone who is not helping; the anger is normal and it needs somewhere to go.

3 min

A regular, unhurried call with an ageing parent, with a few questions that tell you more than how are you.

20 min

Half an hour walking through a parent's home with them, looking for small changes that make falls less likely.

30 min

A single page with every medicine your parent takes, kept current, so nobody has to remember it in a hurry.

20 min

Keeping one thing in an older parent's week that is chosen by them and done by them, however small.

15 min

A short, prepared conversation that can make working while caring more possible, on your terms.

20 min

A short ritual for the moment you switch from caring to working, or back again, so you do not carry one into the other.

5 min

One page that says who can step in if you cannot get to the person you care for, or cannot get to work.

30 min

Twenty minutes in the working day that are not for work and not for caring, but for you.

20 min

Appointments are short and nerves are real. One page of questions, written the day before, means you leave with answers.

15 min

Taking someone with you to an appointment, with one job: listen, and write it down.

20 min

What happens next, what should I watch for, and who do I call? Three questions that make the days after an appointment calmer.

5 min

Four ordinary checks that quietly shape how well an older person eats, talks, walks and stays in touch.

20 min

Half an hour, one question and a phone set to record: a story from an older person's life, kept in their own voice.

30 min

When you live far from an ageing parent, a short list of people close to them is the safety net you cannot be.

30 min

Talking about driving with an older parent, early and respectfully, before it becomes a crisis.

30 min

A weekly once-over of the small things an older person depends on: clean lenses, a working battery, a firm rubber tip.

15 min

Older people often feel less thirsty and eat less without noticing. A few small habits at each visit help keep meals and drinks steady.

10 min

Noticing changes in memory gently, writing them down, and finding the right moment to suggest seeing a doctor together.

20 min

Talking through, in advance, what an older person would do after a fall, so a fall does not become a long night on the floor.

30 min

Before you need it, find out what your workplace already offers for caring, illness and flexible hours, and keep it in one note.

20 min

Keeping the phone out of reach for the first part of the morning, so the day starts with you and not your messages.

5 min

Fifteen minutes to turn off the alerts that do not need you, so the ones that matter can be heard.

15 min

Sorting a few photos at a time into albums you will actually look at, and sharing a favourite with someone in it.

20 min

Writing down which accounts you have and what you would want done with them, so nobody has to guess.

20 min

Appointments, visits and who is doing what, in one calendar everyone involved can see, so fewer things fall through.

20 min

One well-worded phone or speaker reminder, at the right time and in the right place, for the thing that keeps being forgotten.

10 min

Set up video calling for someone who finds technology hard, so one touch connects them to a face they love.

30 min

Scroll for five minutes and notice how each account leaves you feeling, then mute or unfollow the ones that leave you worse.

15 min

Thirty seconds of your voice, sent to someone who would like to hear it, carries more than a typed message can.

5 min

Who wrote it, when, and what do they want from you: three checks before you trust health information online.

10 min

A lamp on a timer, a doorbell with a screen, a big-button phone: one simple device, chosen with the person, can support independence.

20 min

Your email is the key to most of your other accounts, so a strong password and two-step sign-in there protects much of the rest.

20 min

Open the fridge, find three things that go together, and put them on one plate you sit down for.

15 min

A tin of beans, a lemon and good oil make a bowl in ten minutes, with nothing to cook.

10 min

Cook one pot on a quieter evening, and the busy one later in the week already has its dinner.

45 min

One meal today, at a table or by a window, with nothing else to do while you eat it.

20 min

Make a little extra of whatever you are cooking tonight, and take one plate to someone close by.

15 min

Choose one simple dish from a cuisine you rarely cook, find the few ingredients, and make it once. The world on a weeknight.

45 min

Eggs, a can of beans, frozen vegetables, something to toast, something to grate. A plan for the evenings when there is nothing left.

15 min

A glass of water first thing, before the tea or coffee. One small habit at the start of the day, and a glass by the kettle to remind you.

2 min

The dish someone always made, never written down. Ask them, cook it with them if you can, and keep it on paper.

30 min

Smaller plates, colours that stand out, food they can pick up, and time. A few changes that can help someone eat more comfortably.

20 min

No new recipe, no new rules: add one vegetable or fruit to a meal you already eat. A handful of spinach, a tomato, some frozen peas.

5 min

Fifteen minutes on the weekend: seven dinners on one card, one shopping list, and no more 'what is for dinner' at six o'clock.

15 min

Three minutes with a brush or a wide comb, from the ends upwards, done slowly enough to feel like rest.

3 min

Wash day can be a chore on the list, or it can be the slowest, warmest half hour of the week. Choose the second.

30 min

Fingertips, small slow circles, two minutes. Nothing to buy, nothing to learn, and the tightness in your head and neck often eases a little.

2 min

If you are thinking of letting your hair go grey, you can take it slowly, on your own terms, with some kindness for the person in the mirror.

10 min

The haircut that keeps slipping down the list. Book it, go, and sit for half an hour while someone else looks after you.

45 min

Clean hands, a little plain cream, slow strokes from the middle of the face outwards: five minutes that soften the jaw and the day.

5 min

A loose braid, a soft tie or a smooth scarf before bed. Five minutes that can mean fewer tangles and less breakage in the morning.

5 min

Towels, a jug of warm water, a basin and no hurry. Clean hair can make someone who is ill or in bed feel more like themselves.

20 min

A lipstick, a nail colour, a dab of something on the cheeks: one small touch of colour, chosen for yourself, on an ordinary day.

5 min

No hair dryer, straighteners or curling tongs for a week, or for one day a week. Let your hair dry the way it grows.

5 min

When treatment or illness changes your hair, a few gentle habits, and some time to decide what feels right, can make it easier to face.

15 min

A comb, a few ties and twenty minutes. Brushing, braiding or styling someone's hair is one of the oldest ways of spending time together.

20 min

How to make a hospital visit easier for the person in the bed, and for you.

15 min

A simple checklist for the day someone you care for comes home, so the first night goes smoothly.

30 min

There is no right way to grieve. These are a few small things that may help in the first, raw weeks.

10 min

You do not need the perfect words. Being there, naming the loss and offering something specific is enough.

10 min

After a difficult diagnosis, for you or someone you love: one notebook, one question at a time, and permission not to decide everything at once.

15 min

When something big happens, a short written update and one person to pass it on saves you telling the story twenty times.

20 min

Moving home, or moving someone you care for: one box, packed last and opened first, with everything you need for the first night.

30 min

Losing work, or leaving it to care for someone, is a shock. A few steady steps for the first week, before the big decisions.

20 min

Retirement can feel like a long holiday, then a long Tuesday. A loose weekly shape helps the new time feel like yours.

20 min

The first weeks after a separation: looking after the basics, letting people in, and keeping big decisions for later.

15 min

Birthdays, holidays and the date of a death can feel heavy before they arrive. Planning the day a little can make it easier to bear.

15 min

Sorting the belongings of someone who has died, or moved into care, slowly and in small sessions, with three boxes and no rush.

30 min

Water one plant, turn it to the light, and look at it properly for a minute. That is the whole practice.

5 min

Set a timer for ten minutes and put one room back to a place you can breathe in. Stop when it rings.

10 min

One table, one shelf or one corner of the counter, kept clear, with one thing on it you like.

10 min

Open a window wide for five minutes, stand by it, and let fresh air into the room you sleep in.

5 min

A chair, a lamp and a small table in one corner of the home, kept for sitting down and doing nothing much.

20 min

A few low lights along the route you take at night, so the walk to the bathroom is never in the dark.

15 min

When someone spends most of the day in one room, a few changes can make it easier for them and for whoever helps.

20 min

A short, written standard for the home that the household can actually keep, so the rest can be let go without guilt.

10 min

Move the everyday things to between hip and shoulder height, and make one place where food can be prepared from a chair.

20 min

When heating the whole home is hard, keeping one room properly warm through the cold months can help you stay well.

15 min

A chair on a step, a balcony or a patch of ground, and ten minutes in it, makes outdoor space of any size somewhere to rest.

10 min

A few simple products and a cloth that does most jobs can be easier on skin, lungs and the budget.

15 min

Half an hour to put the papers that matter into one place, so you can find them on the day you need them.

30 min

An hour once a year to find out what help, allowances and discounts you or the person you care for may be entitled to.

30 min

A gentle way to start talking with a parent or partner about who they would want to make decisions for them if they could not.

30 min

One hour a month to open the post, look at the bills and see where things stand, without judging yourself.

60 min

Scams work by hurrying you. One simple rule, hang up and call back on a number you know, protects you and the people you care for.

10 min

A small amount set aside automatically, however little, so the next broken appliance is a nuisance rather than a crisis.

15 min

You do not need to finish it today. Half an hour writing down what you have, and who you would want to look after, is the first step.

30 min

Calling a supplier or lender about a bill you cannot pay: five minutes of preparation, a page of notes, and the words to start.

30 min

Half an hour with your last two statements, finding the small regular payments you no longer use.

30 min

When something has gone wrong with a service, a short, clear written complaint is more likely to be taken seriously than an angry call.

30 min

Half an hour with a partner or family member, talking about money with curiosity rather than accusation.

30 min

When you start helping a parent or someone you care for with their money: the right permission, separate records, and their wishes first.

30 min

Three songs in order, for one part of your day: one to arrive, one to stay, one to let go.

10 min

Choose one song and do nothing else for its length. Four minutes, start to finish.

4 min

The kettle takes about three minutes. Sing something, out loud, badly, on purpose, until it clicks.

3 min

Ask someone you love which songs they danced to when they were young, and play them together.

20 min

The guitar under the bed, the keyboard in the spare room: fifteen minutes, no goal, just to hear it.

15 min

Choirs, bandstands, lunchtime recitals, school concerts and open rehearsals: live music is often free and nearby, if you know where to look.

60 min

Many venues run shows, films and visits where noise, movement and coming and going are welcome, so more people can come.

15 min

A walk where the dog sets the pace and sniffs as much as they like, and you get twenty quiet minutes too.

20 min

One page with everything someone else would need to look after your animal, in case you are suddenly away.

20 min

Sitting with an animal, stroking, watching, breathing, is one of the oldest ways to settle a busy mind.

10 min

Small changes at home can make an older animal's last years more comfortable, and give you time to say what you want to say.

15 min

Grief for an animal is real grief, and a small, chosen way to say goodbye can help a household begin to carry it.

15 min

Ask first, let the dog come to you, stroke the side and not the head: three habits that help keep children and dogs safer.

10 min

A few hygiene habits can let people who are pregnant, unwell or recovering keep the comfort of an animal close.

10 min

A little set aside each month, and a few questions asked ahead, can make an unexpected vet visit less frightening.

15 min

An assistance dog is working: give it space, speak to the person rather than the dog, and offer help only if they want it.

5 min

One quiet room with familiar things, a steady routine and a slow introduction to the rest can help an animal feel at home.

20 min

Raised bowls, lighter bags, a helper for walks: small changes can let someone keep an animal for longer as their body changes.

15 min

If you cannot keep a pet, you can still walk someone else's dog, sit with a friend's cat or help at an animal shelter.

30 min

Ten minutes in a day you already have: the bus, the waiting room, the kettle. Keep a book where the pocket is.

10 min

At bedtime, charge the phone outside the bedroom and read ten pages of a paper book by a low lamp.

10 min

A chapter, a poem, a page of the paper, read out loud to a child, a partner or someone who is unwell.

15 min

Copy out one short poem you like, keep it in your pocket or phone case, and read it once a day this week.

3 min

Choose a book you loved, write one line inside the cover, and give it to someone who might love it too.

10 min

Lukewarm water, a soft towel and two unhurried minutes at the basin: a plain start that your skin and your morning both notice.

2 min

Your hands wash, lift and hold all day. Five minutes at night gives them back a little of what the day took.

5 min

A hat by the door, the shady side of the street in the middle of the day, and a little cover for the parts the hat misses.

3 min

Five slow minutes at the basin before bed, done the same way each night, tell your skin and your mind that the day is over.

5 min

Heated rooms and cold wind dry the thinnest skin first. A little plain balm, gloves outdoors and less licking keep lips and hands comfortable.

3 min

Once a month, in good light, look over your skin from scalp to soles. You are looking for anything new or changing.

10 min

The three minutes after a bath or shower are the best time to moisturise. Pat dry, then smooth it on before the water evaporates.

5 min

When someone spends most of the day in a chair or bed, a quick daily look at the skin over the bony places can catch trouble early.

10 min

Wash, dry between the toes, look, moisturise, but not between the toes. Feet carry us all day and rarely get a second glance.

10 min

Scratching brings relief for a moment, then more itch. A cool cloth, a lighter layer and a plain moisturiser are kinder to the skin.

5 min

Warm water first, a sharp blade, short strokes with the grain, cool water after. Kinder to the skin, whether you shave yourself or someone else.

10 min

Before a new cream, soap, hair dye or detergent goes all over, try a little on a small patch and wait. A day or two can save a week of sore skin.

5 min

Five minutes before bed: lay out what you will wear tomorrow, down to the socks, so the morning starts already decided.

5 min

On a hard week, put on one thing that makes you feel more like yourself: a colour, a jacket, a ring, a scent.

2 min

Three or four colours that go together, chosen once for the season, make every morning a little easier.

20 min

When something new comes into the wardrobe, one thing goes out. The rail stays the same size, and everything on it gets worn.

10 min

A loose button, a dropped hem, a small tear: twenty minutes with a needle brings something you like back into use.

20 min

Before you dress, decide how you want today to feel, and choose one thing that says so.

5 min

Front openings, soft waistbands, bigger buttons, shoes without laces: small changes that make dressing easier for stiff or tired hands.

30 min

Feet change with age, pregnancy and illness. Have them measured, and choose shoes for the feet you have today.

30 min

Friends bring clothes they no longer wear, take home what they will. A new wardrobe for nothing, and an afternoon together.

120 min

Three thin layers instead of one thick one. Easy to take off on a warm bus, easy to add back on a cold street.

5 min

Two outfits laid out, and a real choice between them. A small daily way to keep someone you care for in charge of how they look.

10 min

The good coat, the necklace, the shirt with the tags still on. Wear it on an ordinary Tuesday.

5 min

Food eaten with another person feeds something that food eaten standing at the counter does not.

3 min

One real exchange a day, where you say how it is and someone hears it, does more for you than a hundred messages.

3 min

Choose something to enjoy together without guessing what the other person wants: each of you names three, and you look for the overlap.

10 min

Ten minutes a day where a child chooses what you do together, and you put everything else down.

10 min

One meal a week where everyone sits down together, the screens go away and the food does not need to be special.

30 min

When a parent or grandparent is ill, children cope better with simple truth than with silence.

15 min

A small, soft place in the house where anyone, child or adult, can go to settle when feelings get big.

20 min

Ten minutes, a few times a week, to ask each other how you really are, not just what needs doing.

10 min

Arguments happen in every close relationship. What matters most is how you come back together.

10 min

When one of you looks after the other, or someone else, plan one evening where you are simply two people again.

60 min

A short note to a friend you have drifted from, with no need to explain the gap.

5 min

One hour a month given to someone nearby: a lift, a meal, a bit of shopping, a cup of tea.

60 min

A simple way to start a group where neighbours can ask for and offer small help.

30 min

Teaching someone a skill you have, a recipe, a repair, a song, is a gift that keeps going.

60 min

How to keep helping others without wearing yourself thin, especially if you already care for someone.

10 min

One sheet, in one place, with every number you might need during pregnancy, so nobody has to search when it matters.

15 min

Before the baby comes, write down the jobs other people can do, so that when they ask how they can help, you have an answer.

20 min

Pregnancy and the weeks after birth can bring big feelings. Saying them out loud, to someone who can help, is part of looking after yourself.

5 min

A running list of questions about your baby, kept in one place, so the next visit or call covers what you really wanted to ask.

5 min

A simple plan for who is on duty when, so at least one adult gets a stretch of proper rest.

15 min

All babies cry, sometimes for a long time. A plan for the hard moments: put the baby down safely, step away, and breathe.

10 min

The first fifteen minutes after school: a snack, a quiet space, and no questions yet.

15 min

A few simple rules about phones and screens, agreed together and written down, so the arguments get shorter.

30 min

When a child helps look after someone at home, they need their own time, their own words, and someone who knows.

15 min

A small ritual at the end of the day: each of you names three things that went well, however small.

5 min

A short list of household jobs matched to each person's age, so the work of the home is shared and children feel useful.

20 min

When a child is upset, say what you think they are feeling before you try to solve anything.

5 min

A list by the door and a bag packed the night before, so mornings have fewer searches and fewer raised voices.

20 min

A private way to settle disagreements about rules and discipline, so children hear one calm message.

15 min

A short plan for the moment you feel yourself about to snap: step back, breathe, and come back calmer.

2 min

Share a story from your own childhood, or ask a grandparent for one, so children know where they come from.

10 min

Praise what your child did, the trying, the sticking with it, rather than labels like clever or good.

2 min

A short page of what matters most to you about the birth, written down and talked through with your midwife.

20 min

A bag packed in good time for the birth, with a list on top, so nobody has to think about it when the moment comes.

30 min

Do the journey to where you plan to give birth once, before the day, and sort out who drives and who looks after whom.

60 min

Build short, planned rests into the day during pregnancy, and let the less important jobs wait.

15 min

Prepare for the conversation with your employer: what you want to say, what you want to ask, and where to find out your rights.

30 min

Help the person who will be with you understand their part: appointments, the plan, and who to call if something feels wrong.

20 min

Write a short letter to your baby: what this time is like, what you hope for, what you are wondering about.

15 min

Find a few people who are expecting at around the same time as you, so you have company for the months ahead.

60 min

Help an older child get ready for a new baby with simple talk, a book or two, and a job that is theirs.

15 min

Talk to your baby about what you are doing as you do it, in your own words and your own language.

5 min

Get out of the house with the baby once a day if you can, even for ten minutes round the block.

20 min

Welcome visitors in the early weeks on your terms: one at a time, for a set time, and with a job to do.

10 min

Set up one short, regular break for yourself each day, with someone else holding the baby.

20 min

Keep a tiny diary of the first year: one line each day about something your baby did or something you felt.

2 min

Look at a simple picture book with your baby for a few minutes, pointing, naming and enjoying it together.

5 min

One page for anyone who looks after your baby: the routine, what they like, and who to call.

20 min

Keep one small thing from your life before the baby: a song, a walk, a hobby, a call, done once a week.

30 min

On hard days, decide what counts as enough: the baby cared for, you fed, and the rest can wait.

2 min

Some of the best conversations with children and teenagers happen side by side, in the car, on a walk or while cooking.

20 min

One regular place and time for homework, with what they need to hand and an adult nearby.

20 min

Hand a child or teenager the planning of one family day out: a budget, a time limit, and the decisions are theirs.

30 min

When your child falls out with a friend, listen first, help them think it through, and resist rushing in to fix it.

15 min

Give a child small, planned chances to do things on their own: a short walk, a shop, a bus journey, step by step.

20 min

When frightening news is everywhere, ask what your child has heard, answer simply and honestly, and help them feel safe.

15 min

A small, regular amount of money, or a pretend budget, that a child decides how to use, to learn about choices.

20 min

Teach a child one practical life skill each season: cooking a simple meal, doing laundry, mending a bike, making a call.

30 min

A box where a child can post their worries on paper, and a regular time to look at them together.

10 min

Each day, tell someone close to you one specific thing you appreciated about them.

2 min

Set up a regular time with a friend, the same day and time each month, so seeing each other does not depend on finding a gap.

60 min

Say clearly and kindly what you need from someone close to you, instead of hoping they will guess.

10 min

Go somewhere regular, see the same faces, and take one small step towards one person.

60 min

Practise a short, kind way to say no, so you can protect your time and energy without damaging the relationship.

5 min

Spend half an hour picking up litter on your street or in a local park, on your own or with neighbours.

30 min

Set up a simple swap for books, toys, clothes or seeds, in your building, street, school or group.

30 min

Try volunteering once, for a single session, before deciding whether to commit to more.

120 min

When someone moves in nearby, say hello, share a few useful things about the area, and offer your name and number.

15 min

During very hot or very cold spells, check on a neighbour who lives alone, is older or unwell.

10 min

Write a short note of thanks to someone whose work helps your community: a nurse, a teacher, a waste collector, a bus driver.

10 min

Give from home: a regular phone call with someone who lives alone or rarely sees people.

20 min

Grow a few extra seedlings, herbs or cuttings and give them to neighbours, friends or a community garden.

20 min

Walk somewhere ten minutes from your door as if you were visiting, and find three things you never noticed.

30 min

One sheet of paper: where, how you would get there, where you would sleep, and one thing you would do. No booking.

15 min

On a walk you already do, turn down one street you have never taken, and see where it goes.

20 min

Choose somewhere within an hour, one thing to see there, and a day this month. Write it on the calendar.

20 min

For people who look after someone: one night somewhere else, arranged with care, so you can come back rested.

30 min

Ten minutes the day before a hospital or clinic visit can make the journey calmer: the route, the time, the bag and the entrance.

15 min

A short, level route with benches and a place to turn back, so anyone can come, wheels and walking sticks included.

20 min

For any outing, choose a backup for rain and one for heat before you go, so the day bends rather than breaks.

10 min

Get on a local bus you have never taken and stay on until it stops. A window seat, a new part of town, and home again for the price of a fare.

90 min

Many trains, buses, stations and airports offer free help for people who need it, but you usually have to ask, and often ahead.

15 min

Everything you need to stay well while away, in one bag that stays with you rather than in the suitcase.

15 min

Go to a local market or a small shop on foot, buy one thing you would usually get at the big store, and look around while you are there.

30 min