‘New year, new you’? How are we supposed to find the time? | Emma Beddington

Sure, most of us can fit in a few thousand steps a day, or a couch to 5k. But what about the strength training, the mobility routine, the cooking from scratch, the meditation, the breathwork, the eight hours’ sleep …

I’m not anti-resolution. I actually stuck to one last year: not a single microwave rice sachet has passed my lips since 1 January 2024 and yes, I do want a medal, thanks. But I also want to ask anyone implementing something “new year new you”-adjacent in the wellness space: do you really have time?

The wellness timesuck starts innocently enough, setting a manageable daily step count, maybe, downloading a couch to 5k app or targeting the NHS’s recommended 150 minutes of weekly exercise. But once you get started, you’ll discover everything else you should be doing, especially if you’re a suggestible social media user. “Start strength training,” your algorithms nudge, raving about bone density and heart health, so soon you’re adding deadlifts and split squats to your weekly routine. Then it’s mobility – don’t you realise it’s key to avoiding pain and later-life problems, dummy? Do daily stretches or suffer the creaky consequences.

Emma Beddington is a Guardian columnist

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