Acts-of-Kindness Week

A light, week-long template built around doing small helpful things for others, which is linked to better mood for the giver as well as the receiver. Includes a quick primer on the kinds of support you can offer so your kindness lands where it's needed.

How often: daily · planning default, not from the research

When: any time · the sources state no time of day; the planner's slot is a default

The time slot is a planning choice: a swap can keep it.

Not yet in the evidence base — this is a reasonable way to work toward the goal, not a recommendation a review has confirmed. See “Evidence status” below for what a review would need to confirm.

The evidence applies to the practice, not to these particular steps — they are one way to carry it out.

1
The Different Kinds of Social Support
Note the emotional, informational, and practical support you could give
Helps match acts to what people actually need.
Slot: giving and prosocial action
Scaffold: app-designed step
No option on this bench from any review
No completed Round-2 review has named a practice for giving and prosocial action that an extraction row placed in it. That is a gap in the knowledge base, not in this step: the step’s own exercise stands, and there is nothing yet to swap it for.
2
Do Small Acts of Kindness
Do 1 small act of kindness per day (or several across the week)
Core practice. Keep acts small and genuine.
Slot: giving and prosocial action
Scaffold: app-designed stepApp-designed prescriptionno finding maps to this routine's block, so nothing states these numbers.
No option on this bench from any review
No completed Round-2 review has named a practice for giving and prosocial action that an extraction row placed in it. That is a gap in the knowledge base, not in this step: the step’s own exercise stands, and there is nothing yet to swap it for.

Safety, and where each line comes from

5 product safeguard (app-authored)1 source silent

Each line below says where it comes from. “Reported by the review’s sources” is the source’s own words about adverse events or contraindications. “Product safeguard” is written by this app, not by the research. “Source silent” means the studies behind this routine report nothing on that point, which is not the same as saying it carries no risk.

Who should modify or avoid this

Product safeguard (app-authored)Avoid self-neglect, giving should not come at the cost of your own needs
From this routine’s block record, written by this app.
Product safeguard (app-authored)All adults
From this routine’s block record, written by this app.
Source silentThe sources behind this routine's finding report no contraindications or population restrictions.

When to seek supervision or clearance

Product safeguard (app-authored)Persistent loneliness or isolation accompanied by low mood, hopelessness, loss of interest, or withdrawal lasting 2+ weeks: encourage contact with a primary care provider or mental health professional
From this routine’s block record, written by this app.
Product safeguard (app-authored)Thoughts of self-harm or that life is not worth living: direct to crisis line / emergency services immediately
From this routine’s block record, written by this app.
Product safeguard (app-authored)Signs of a medical emergency (chest pain or pressure, trouble breathing, fainting, sudden weakness or numbness) mean 911 or your local emergency services; thoughts of self-harm or suicide mean the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. This app does not diagnose, treat or give personalised medical advice.

How to do it

Start by sorting what you can actually offer: emotional support (checking in, listening), informational (a contact, a how-to, a heads-up), and practical (a lift, a meal, twenty minutes of your hands). Matching the kind to what the person needs matters more than the size of the gesture.
Keep each act small and genuine - a specific message rather than a generic one, an offer you can deliver on. Fifteen minutes is the scope; anything needing a project plan belongs elsewhere.
Spread them across different people: someone close, a colleague, a neighbor or stranger. One a day is the default shape, and a few done properly across the week beats seven rushed ones.
Offer rather than assume. Ask what would actually help before doing the thing you imagined helping with, and take a no without renegotiating it.
Do not run this at your own expense. If the week's acts are costing you sleep, money you need, or time you do not have, cut back - giving that leaves you depleted is not the practice.
If loneliness or low mood has been there two weeks or more - hopelessness, withdrawal, loss of interest - bring it to a primary-care or mental-health professional; this is a social habit, not care. If you are having thoughts of harming yourself or that life is not worth living, contact a crisis line or emergency services now (988 or 911 in the US).

Evidence status

Not yet in the evidence base

No internal review in this library has asked this specific practice’s question yet, so there are no cited studies here. It’s included as a way to work toward the goal — not because a review has confirmed it works as described.

What a review would need to answer: Do small acts of kindness improve the giver's mood or well-being?

Open the week builder