Micro Adventures: The Antidote to Everyday Inertia
What needs fixing?
Maybe nothing is wrong, exactly. But still, everything feels... flat.
I glance at my calendar and see the work I care about, the family I love, the home that holds me.
And yet, life has shrunk.
To Zoom calls, WhatsApp groups, to-do lists, "have you bought milk?" texts, and "where’s my homework?"
Somewhere along the way, the edges disappeared. The colour faded.
How do I feel about this?
I felt grateful — but restless. Safe — but stuck.
So I tried something. A small act of rebellion: I booked a disco dance class. On a Friday morning.
Weekdays are usually sacred for work, but there was this pull… a longing to break the inertia.
Apparently, what I needed was an instructor in neon spandex asking us to groove to 80s tracks.
That morning felt like the beginning of something — not a big reinvention, just a small return.
It wasn’t about fitness. It wasn’t about routine. It was about feeling something again.
So what’s the counter view?
We’re told wellbeing is about green juices, retreats, and rigid routines.
But what if it's also about tiny, regular interruptions to the ordinary?
Joyful ones. Playful ones. Silly ones. Local, affordable, non-performative ones.
Ones that don’t require you to overhaul your life — just to step sideways from it, for a moment.
That’s how the idea of weekly wellbeing micro adventures was born.
The Micro Adventure Manifesto
Here are the gentle rules I’ve made for myself as I try this out:
With other people.
The research (and our hearts) say we feel better when we’re connected. So these adventures include others — even if we just smile at the person on the mat next to us.
Affordable.
If it works, I want to repeat it. This isn’t about a £90 spa day — it’s about a £9 drop-in class or a free gallery stroll.
Local.
My wellbeing is tied to the places I actually spend time in. I’m curious about what’s already around me.
Not in the evenings.
Evenings are full. Of fatigue, of responsibilities. So where I can, I’ll adventure earlier in the day.
Once a week.
Just one thing. One moment that helps me feel more like myself again.
One theme at a time.
Creativity, awe, rest, movement — I’ll focus on one wellbeing theme at a time to keep it doable (and memorable).
What will this change?
Already, something is shifting. I feel a little more awake. More playful. More willing.
Not because I’m fixing myself, but because I’m reconnecting. With joy. With curiosity. With the aliveness I’d let go quiet.
This isn’t self-optimisation.
It’s self-reclamation.
Want to try your own weekly wellbeing micro adventure?
Here are 5 questions to get you started:
What’s pulling at you right now?
What’s your version of a disco class?
What do you want to feel more of?
What wellbeing area are you most curious to explore?
What are your rules for adventure?
Want to come along with me? Follow along on Substack.
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Let’s see what becomes possible — one tiny, joyful interruption at a time.
