Challenge Tips

Connect With Others It’s time to find your fitness community! While it’s fine to exercise alone, incorporating some group workouts into your regimen can keep you motivated and spur you to work harder. Exercising with other people also keeps you accountable and less likely to skip a workout. Your Action for Tonight Reach out to a friend, family member, ...

Reward Your Efforts As we mentioned on Day 4 , rewarding yourself isn’t just nice — it’s an important part of creating healthy habits! After all of your hard work, it’s time to celebrate the effort. Rewarding yourself causes your brain to release dopamine, which makes you feel good — and motivates you to continue. Focus on healthy rewards that bring you ...

Visualize Your Win Your mind is a powerful ally in your quest to stay fit. Visualization , also called mental imagery, can help you improve your physical performance, boost motivation, and increase your sense of satisfaction. These are all very helpful when you need a little spark during the colder, darker months of the year! A study of athletes found ...

Change It Up Drizzly, gray skies and shorter days can lead to feelings of fatigue, boredom, or lack of motivation called “ winter blues .” Your usual routine may not excite or inspire you the way it once did. If that happens, shake things up and see what happens! You’ve heard the saying, “Variety is the spice of life.” As it turns out, there is a biological ...

Dress the Part When the temperature drops, the right gear can make a big difference in both how you feel and how long you can comfortably exercise outside. Three factors to keep in mind when choosing your outdoor exercise wear are: Moisture levels Temperature Wind chill Layering your clothes is the key to comfort and safety. Start with a ...

Track Your Progress There’s a reason why fitness watches and apps are all the rage these days: Tracking your progress is one of the simplest but most powerful tools for building consistency. According to research, consistently monitoring your progress toward a goal increases your chance for long-term success. And, this is true for any goal, ...

Use a Habit Loop A habit loop is a simple and effective strategy to help you reach your fitness goals. It has 3 parts: a cue, a routine, and a reward. According to research, a habit loop boosts positive reinforcement to influence your brain to create a new pattern or routine. In a habit loop, the cue triggers the action you want to take. For instance: Putting ...

Change Your Mindset If the idea of colder weather has you running for the covers instead of running outside, change your mindset! According to psychologists , there are two basic types of mindsets: fixed and growth. A fixed mindset might include the belief that cold weather is unpleasant and therefore unsuitable for exercise. A growth mindset might ...

Design Your Routine for Cold Days Exercising outside when it’s cold has several health benefits . Your body burns more calories and converts more fat into energy. You also benefit from sunlight, which helps your body produce vitamin D and improves your mood. On some days, the weather may make it a challenge to get outside, so flexibility is also ...

When your motivation to exercise takes a dip, it helps to go back to the beginning and remember why you began your fitness journey in the first place. Aligning your values and what’s important to you with your workouts can help you push through this resistance. For example, if you value having more energy throughout the day, let that be your “why” for ...

Reflect and Plan Ahead for Continued Success Reflection helps build lasting behavior change. Looking back on and celebrating a goal you achieved can motivate you to continue to improve. You just spent the past 9 days thinking about and taking action to prevent food waste. You deserve a pat on the back for your commitment to sustainability! Your Action ...

Take a Food Inventory Knowing what’s in your fridge, freezer, and pantry helps you avoid overbuying at the grocery store. It saves you time, money, and the need to toss spoiled or expired food. There’s only one way to know for sure what food items you have on hand at any given time: Keep a current inventory. Your Action for Tonight Start by logging the food ...

Store Smarter, Not Harder High-quality containers — especially those made from glass, stainless steel, or BPA-free silicone — preserve food’s freshness better than flimsy, single-use plastics. And, unlike plastic storage containers, they don’t cause harm to the planet or wildlife. Reusable containers help you stay organized. Using ...

Creatively Repurpose Leftovers Repurposing leftovers is a practical and impactful way to reduce food waste at home. Instead of letting uneaten food sit in the fridge until it spoils, give it a second life! Regularly using leftovers can also improve your meal planning habits. It encourages you to cook with intention, reduce over-portioning, and ...

Know When to Freeze It It’s time to put your freezer to work for you. Freezing food extends the life of your leftovers and raw ingredients, saving you time and money — and reducing waste. Take note: There’s a trick to freezing your food. According to the New York Times , protecting your food from air and moisture, which cause freezer burn, is key. Airtight ...

Leverage Technology to Monitor Food Freshness Let tech do the work to prevent food from spoiling. There are many apps and tools that help you stay on top of your food inventory and reduce waste. Inventory apps allow you to track what you have in your fridge, freezer, and pantry. You can log expiration dates, set reminders, and even get recipes based on ...

Rotate Your Food to Maximize Freshness First In, First Out (FIFO) is a common method the food industry uses to manage and rotate stock . You can use this simple method in your own kitchen to ensure you consume the oldest food items first, before they spoil. Consistently applying FIFO helps you become more aware of what you already have on hand. For example, ...

Organize Your Produce for Longevity It’s a story most of us know too well: We buy produce with the best intentions, only to see it wilt, spoil, and go to waste a few days later. Many fruits and vegetables have specific storage needs that, when met, can significantly extend their shelf life. A common mistake is putting everything in the fridge, but ...

Set the Right Fridge and Freezer Temps The first step in preventing spoiled food waste is to store it at the right temperature. Proper food storage preserves freshness and guards against microorganisms like Salmonella and E. coli. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture , bacteria grow quickly at temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees ...

Understand Your Food Waste Impact Did you know that 33% of all food produced around the world is lost or wasted each year? Consider the number of times you’ve purchased a head of lettuce or bag of spinach, only to dispose of it a week later. According to Stop Waste Food Day , this lost food costs a family in the U.S. nearly $1,900 each year, on average. Even ...

Connect With Nature Spending time in nature is one of the best ways to remember how important it is to take care of our planet. Taking a few moments out of our day to watch a sunset, listen to birdsong, or breathe in fresh air reminds us of the incredible world we inhabit. It also shows us what we stand to lose by failing to stop climate change. And that is ...

Your Voice Carries Weight Education is critical for climate action. As you learned on Day 4, your voice as a trusted nurse carries weight with patients, coworkers, communities, and policymakers. By educating others about how climate change impacts health, you can raise awareness and spur others to act. Your Action for Today: Mention one ...

Eco-Mindful Self-Care Sustainable self-care is taking care of yourself in ways that also take care of the planet. When you practice self-care in this way, you choose ways to recharge that create less waste, use fewer resources, and cause no harm to the environment. When done with mindful intention, a sustainable self-care practice can nourish your ...

Set a Personal Sustainability Intention Sustainability efforts can seem small in the face of global challenges, but change starts with you. Without a clear goal, it's easy to feel overwhelmed or stuck. Defining your intention helps you turn your concern for the environment into achievable actions. It also fosters consistency ...

Assess Your Work Environment A recent study found that most nurses feel reducing waste and conserving resources are important within the health care industry. However, they also reported that these efforts end up on the back burner because of the pressing demands of patient care. Time constraints and lack of support can be barriers as well. The good ...

Try a Plant-Forward Day When it comes to your health, plants pack a powerful punch. Thanks to their vitamins, minerals, fiber content, antioxidants, and healthy fats, plant-based foods lower your risk of: Cancer Diabetes Heart disease Inflammation Obesity Stroke In addition, plant-based foods benefit our environment by reducing the ...

Use Your Voice to Advocate Nurses are among the most trusted voices of any profession. According to a recent Gallup poll, nearly 80% of Americans feel nurses’ honesty and ethical standards are “high” or “very high.” That’s an empowering statistic! This level of trust gives you a unique opportunity to raise awareness, shape public opinion, and inspire ...

Walk, Bike, or Carpool Your method of transportation has a big impact on climate change. In the U.S., transportation accounts for approximately 28% of greenhouse gas emissions , thanks to the burning of gasoline and diesel. Cutting emissions protects public health. It leads to cleaner air, fewer respiratory illnesses, and fewer climate-related ...

Reduce Single-Use Waste Disposable goods significantly contribute to climate change throughout their entire life cycle. Pollution from plastics is at critical levels, yet global plastic output continues to grow . Approximately 150 million tons of single-use plastic are produced every year. The extraction of fossil fuels needed to produce ...

Reflect on Climate Health Climate change impacts our mental and physical health. It is the biggest threat to humanity , costing the lives of millions of people around the globe each year. Realizing this, the American Nurses Association (ANA) states: Nurses must be informed about the deep interconnection of human health and the health of the ...

Be Kind to Future You Kindness toward yourself includes planning for your future well-being — because true self-care isn’t just reactive, it’s proactive . While it’s fine to soothe yourself when you're already exhausted or overwhelmed, self-care does its best work before you get to the point of no return. Proactive self-care happens when you take ...

Celebrate Someone’s Strength In a challenging and high-stress environment like healthcare, it can be easy to forget to acknowledge the people around you. Celebrating others for their strengths, gifts, and achievements builds a culture of trust and respect. It motivates your team to continue giving 110%. Nurses can lose sight of the difference they ...

Show Kindness Through Listening Lending an empathetic ear can be the best act of kindness when a friend, patient, or colleague needs support. Active listening , where you stay focused and engaged when someone else is speaking, shows you care about the other person’s thoughts and feelings. Listening with the intention of understanding someone’s ...

Start a Workplace Kindness Wave Healthcare organizations benefit from a culture built on kindness , according to international research. Kindness leads to less stress, reduced burnout, and greater trust among healthcare workers. It also results in better patient outcomes. Whether you’re in management or serve as a frontline care provider, you ...

Practice Kindness in Your Community Research has shown that kindness is contagious and can have a ripple effect throughout a community. Giving back offers benefits to both the giver and the recipient, motivating both parties to continue spreading kindness. Modeling kindness can help foster a more collaborative and cooperative community that ...

Forgive a Peer or Loved One Forgiveness is the intentional act of releasing resentment and anger toward someone who hurt you. Letting go of pain may be hard, but holding onto it can cause lasting bitterness and lessen your ability to experience joy. Releasing your anger improves your mental and emotional well-being and brings you peace of mind. Your ...

Spread Kindness at Work Nurses face intense emotional and physical demands at work. When they feel supported and respected, both morale and patient experience improve. A supportive team can be a grounding force. It creates a workplace where care flows not just to patients, but also among colleagues. Your Action for Today Consider ways to turn your ...

Offer Kindness to a Stranger Now that you’ve nourished yourself with kindness and compassion, it’s time to share this same goodwill with others. A random act of kindness is a gesture of goodwill with no expectation of reward or payment from the recipient. The act itself produces a “reward” by boosting oxytocin and serotonin (“feel-good” hormones) and ...

Forgive Yourself With Compassion Sometimes, we are our own worst critics. Learning from our mistakes is important for growth and development. But dwelling on blunders can sabotage our happiness and sense of fulfillment. On the other hand, self-forgiveness can improve mental and emotional well-being and reduce stress and anxiety. A recent study ...

Be Kind to Yourself First Nurses are natural caregivers — it’s in the job description. Many nurses put the well-being of others first, often to the detriment of their own health. However, research shows that nurses provide better care when they are physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy. Provision 5 of the American Nurses Association’s Code ...

Reflect and Celebrate You made it to Day 10! That is reason to celebrate. Celebrating your wins is important for future success. Acknowledging a job done well helps reinforce the positive behaviors that led to your achievement. Your Action for Today Write down your hydration wins. Did you experience clearer skin, fewer headaches, or better energy? ...

Audit Your Routine It’s time to pause and review your efforts over the past 8 days. Identifying what’s working (and what’s not) can make the difference when it comes to lasting habit change . You can’t improve what you don’t understand. An audit of your hydration routine will show where you can tweak and adapt new behaviors to make your water habit stick. ...

Hydrate With Intention Mindful intention can transform a simple habit into a powerful daily ritual. Consciously choosing to hydrate — not just because you're thirsty, but because you know it supports your health — reinforces the why behind your actions. When you link drinking water to an aspect of wellness, it creates a stronger, lasting habit. It ...

Lead the Way to Better Hydration When you step up as a role model for others, you naturally become more consistent, more mindful, and more motivated. Studies have shown that being watched by others makes us perform better and work harder. This concept can work for hydration, too. Setting an example for your friends or teammates can help everyone ...

Hit Your Hydration Target With Technology Don’t just hope you remember to drink enough fluids each day. You’ve got tech on your side! There are several smart tools that can help you hit your hydration goals — and have a little fun. Take advantage of apps, smart bottles, and cheeky reminders that behave more like a friend and less like a nag. Turn hydration ...

Steer Clear of Sneaky Dehydrators When it comes to hydration, not all drinks and snacks are your friends — some are sneaky little moisture thieves in disguise! Those salty chips, super-caffeinated iced coffees, and energy drinks kick water right out of your system. (How rude.) And let’s not even get started with cocktails. Alcohol can be a huge ...

Stack Your Habits for Success If you find that forgetting to drink water is an obstacle on your path to hydration, try habit stacking ! With this behavioral technique, you attach a desired habit (hydrating) to an established routine. Stacking habits can help rewire your brain to incorporate the new habit faster. Your Action for Today Stack your ...

Hack Your Hydration Did you discover on Day 2 that you need to up your hydration game? Chances are, the idea of guzzling liters of plain water doesn’t exactly spark joy. Don’t sweat it. You can meet your daily water quota with some tasty, fun hacks. The key is to make hydration enjoyable, so you look forward to your next sip. Your Action for Tonight Set ...

Calculate Your Water Intake Needs So, how much water does a person need to drink each day? The answer: It depends. While you may have heard everyone should consume 8 8-ounce glasses, this may not be enough. Experts now suggest factoring in several variables, including: Your environment: If you live in a hot, humid, dry, or high-altitude area, your ...

Know Your Baseline Hydration Level Everyone knows drinking (enough) water every day is critical for many aspects of health. Staying hydrated improves body temperature regulation, lubricates your joints, and helps your organs function. It’s great for your skin and can boost your mood and sleep quality. Yet, according to the National Council on ...