Find Yourself a Weekly Check-In Buddy

Weekly Wellness Challenge

Build Accountability & Connection, One Conversation at a Time

We all need someone to check in with — not just when things go wrong, but to celebrate the small wins and stay grounded during tough weeks.

This week’s challenge: choose one person to do a weekly check-in with. A short chat to reflect, reset, and remind each other what really matters.

It’s a simple practice. But done consistently, it can transform your emotional wellbeing, motivation, and relationships.

Why?

Benefits of Having a Weekly Buddy:

1. Improves Self-Reflection
   Talking things through forces clarity. You get to hear yourself think — and sometimes, that’s exactly what you need.

2. Boosts Motivation & Accountability
   When you share your goals out loud, you’re far more likely to act on them. A check-in buddy keeps your actions aligned with your intentions.

3. Supports Mental Health
   Just knowing someone cares enough to ask is powerful. It fosters connection, reduces loneliness, and creates space to be honest.

4. Strengthens Relationships
   Consistency deepens trust. You’ll likely become each other’s emotional support system — without it feeling like a therapy session.

5. Creates Mutual Growth
   Check-ins aren’t one-sided. When you help someone reflect, reset, and grow — you do the same for yourself.

   1. Feel a greater sense of purpose

   2. Gain perspective on your own life

   3. Build emotional resilience

   4. Improve self-regulation and empathy

   5. In fact, studies show that compassionate action triggers the same reward circuits in your brain as receiving help.

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Recommendation

Step 1: Pick Your Person
A friend, sibling, colleague, or someone in your community — anyone who’s open, honest, and willing to commit.

Step 2: Keep It Simple
15–30 mins max. Once a week. Set a recurring time that works for both of you (Zoom, call, voice note, or coffee in person).

Step 3: Format some questions - e.g.

• What’s one thing that went well this week?

• What challenged you?

• What’s one focus or intention for next week?

• Is there anything I can help with or hold you to?

Step 4: Stay Consistent
Put it in your calendar. Same day/time each week. Treat it as a non-negotiable — not a “maybe.”

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Stats You Should Know

• According to a study published in JAMA Psychiatry, individuals with regular social check-ins report lower levels of stress and loneliness, especially during periods of life transition or uncertainty.

• Dr. Gail Matthews, a psychology professor at Dominican University, conducted a study that found individuals who shared their goals them with a friend, and checked-in were 70% more likely to achieve them — compared to only 35% who kept their goals to themselves.

• Helping others triggers reward-related brain activity (Harvard Study of Adult Development), showing mutual benefit in check-ins.

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Further Information

📘 "The Art of Showing Up: How to Be There for Yourself and Your People" - Rachel Wilkinson