I woke up and accidentally created a new wellness movement

Welcome to 28 Hard; the lifestyle plan for time-poor people...

Last Sunday I woke up before the rest of my household and did a 20 minute work-out. This is very unusual behaviour, trust me. As I Whatsapp’d my friend to discuss this strange turn of events, I suggested we try to do it every day for the month of February. After all, 20 minutes wasn’t hard and I felt great after. I posted it on Instagram and called it 28 Hard. Five days later, almost 1,000 of you were doing it with me.

As you can probably tell by the name, I was inspired by 75 Hard. Hard on the Ish. If you haven’t heard of it; it’s a 75-day mental toughness challenge created by US-based entrepreneur Andy Frisella. It’s framed as a mindset and self-discipline reset. If you miss any task, even on day 74, you start again from day 1. No exceptions, no rest days. It’s intense by design, and for some people, that works brilliantly. But for many women with full lives, long days, and limited bandwidth, 75 days of rigid rules can feel more like survival than self-improvement.

My (made up) version is not about perfection, aesthetics, or adding more to your plate. It’s about re-prioritising and moving yourself to the front, for one small moment a day. It’s deciding to show up for yourself for 28 days, even when life is loud and time is tight.

28 Hard is built for real life; it isn’t a “wait until things calm down” kind of challenge. It’s for the women juggling work, life, relationships, kids, stress, who have approximately 400 open tabs in their brains. With so many competing priorities, there’s always that voice in your head that says you’ll start again on Monday.

Where 75 Hard is about extreme consistency and zero flexibility, 28 Hard is the opposite. It’s about discipline without burnout, structure without punishment, and moments that fit into real life. Shorter workouts, realistic sleep, kinder timelines, and one planned night off mean that we’re able to build consistency that’s actually sustainable. The goal isn’t to prove how hard you can push; it’s to prove you can show up for yourself, day after day, in a way that lasts.

The rules are straightforward, but they do ask you to show up consistently. And honestly? That’s where the magic is.

Here’s how 28 Hard works. Every day for 28 days:

• Do two 20-minute workouts (one of them can be a walk — yes, that counts).

• Read 10 pages of a book (real reading only, audiobooks don’t count).

• Drink at least 1.5 litres of water. Harder than it sounds.

• Eat well: no alcohol, no processed sugar, no takeaways.

• Lights out by 10:30pm — scroll less, sleep more.

• You’re allowed one night off for the whole month, so choose wisely.

That’s it. No fancy tracking apps. No “if I miss a day I’ve failed at life” energy. Just 28 days of keeping promises to yourself and seeing what happens when you stop negotiating with your own goals. Miss a day? Be kind to yourself. It really doesn’t matter. Start again the next day.

While the rules are simple, the impact is not. Over 28 days, something shifts. I’ve felt it already in the first week. Confidence builds. Decisions get cleaner. You stop negotiating with yourself and start moving differently. Not because life suddenly got easier, but because you were able to start to prioritise yourself, due to these simple promises you were able to keep to yourself, and the small time slots. Perfect for the time-poor.

If you’re up for giving it a go, come join me HERE. It doesn’t matter when you start, all that matters is that you start. Bring your friends. Start messy. Start tired. Just start.

Because 28 days from now, you’ll be really glad you did.