A nice book with simple concepts, some of which you have probably heard of before, broken down into 52 short sections which ideally I think should be read across the course of a year while you attempt to implement one per week. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC, the only issue I would say is that I made an effort to read it quicker than I would have done otherwise which makes remembering these tips a little harder. One of my own might be to set aside time on a Monday to read one section per week and making that a practise in itself and then the following week seeing how well you did at implementing one of the wellness tips!

Written in a friendly and easy to read way, it was a great reminder if nothing else to stop, breathe, take a walk and generally understand that it's not work/life balance but all of it is just balancing life in general and not letting work get on top of me. I'll try to keep some of these tips up, wish me luck!

Interesting and a good read. I liked how it goes into explaining how productivity isn't just for the workplace and how to bring that perspective back home.

This was a very helpful book. The author has written it like he is talking directly to you (something that grips my attention from the get go).

There are lots of tips to help your mind and gives you motivation to keep it up.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC.

This book dragged me in from the first sentence. It's like he is talking to you. There are lots of interesting tips to keep your mind and body healthy along the way and motivational methods so that you keep up the good work.

There are so many self help books and those on wellbeing it can be daunting to find one that gives easily understandable and clear guidelines.

Split into 52 sections there are exercises that assist in the day to day of this strange place we call earth.

For someone that has struggled massively at times due to being neuro diverse this is a very useful weapon in my armoury against what life throws at me. You can dip in and out of the exercises and do them in random.

If you want a very handy, straight forward, guide to trying to make life a little more tolerable this would be a wise choice 5/5.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Unfortunately, this book wasn't for me and I decided to DNF (did not finish) it soon after starting it.

This could be ‘accused’ of repeating all the usual stuff in the self help genre but I don’t think that’s true. There are a lot of ideas you may have heard before but Ryan Hopkins adds a personal touch and also a clear path to follow.

The book describes the concept, then illustrates it with recent research and academic ideas, and then gives three tips (or more) to enable you to use the concept in your everyday life. There are fifty two so that you can work on one for a week before moving on. It’s been shown that trying to do too many changes simultaneously almost guarantees failure. Mr Hopkins sets things out so that you have a good chance of success. He says "Small smart choices with consistency over time equal a radical difference."

There’s fascinating stuff about how hungry parole boards make decisions and how really focusing while listening to music can help with relaxation. The trick is to be fully present. There’s a handy playlist to start you off.

If you’re really stuck on what to do in a situation, you can always ask - ‘what would Fergus do?’ But to understand that, you’ll have to read the book.

I was given a copy if the book by NetGalley

Really, really enjoyed this one! The tips were really practical and applicable to day-to-day life. I honestly didn't expect to take so much from this book, but every chapter held something which I found real meaning in. A couple did feel like slight repetition, which is why I'm going for the 4 stars...

I received an ARC from Netgalley


This book provides well-known suggestions for improving wellbeing, supported by research and personal experiences of the author. The reader can implement these suggestions gradually, such as reading one chapter per week, to enhance their own wellbeing and potentially help themselves

This book was not my cup of tea, but I really see it benefitting some people just beginning to jump into wellbeing, especially from a corporate viewpoint. Ultimately, this is a book about helping yourself when the corporate world seems to give us such little leeway. I had hoped for a little more discussion on changing the systems themselves.

Sadly, this book wasn't for me and I failed to finish it. I just couldn't connect to the writing style. I work in the Wellbeing space and maybe this is why I found this so underwhelming. Sadly nothing new or exciting, just tired old content.

As a new and first time mom, it’s easy to get lost in the day to day. It’s easy to get lost in the seamingly mundane tasks of every day. It’s easy to start losing yourself.

While I don’t think this book was groundbreaking, it was incredibly helpful in reminding me to keep my cup full. People need to keep themselves fulfilled and their cup full in order to be able to pour from them.

This book was a good and gentle reminder that while I’m taking care of my family, I also need to take care of myself.

i thought the book was very insightful , i think it would help many who may be struggling and needing help if they have not many people to talk to .

i have been in a bad place in the passed i wish we had a bit more of this around then , it kept very simple which i think is needed as some books on well-being over complicate things so this would be perfect for people suffering like i did as the brain is working over time anyway .

the writing flows very well Ryan did a great job with this book Talking about well being / mental health is very hard and he did it such great delicate way of helping others .

i'm giving it a 5 stars

Concise and easily digestible steps supported with helpful action points. Perfect accompaniment for any professional wellbeing library.

I enjoyed the style of writing in this book. Nothing in it was groundbreaking but it would be a good thing to read weekly to remind yourself of how to look after yourself better.
I would definitely read back through again.

This is a nice book. I wouldn’t say it’s groundbreaking - there’s nothing here I haven’t read before online or in women’s magazines - but it’s written warmly and engagingly and it’s nice to have something to focus on week by week.

This has some great advice. I read an advanced copy for review and would really like to read it again one week at a time as I feel that would be really helpful. Recommended.

Enjoyed the style of writing of this and it made it feel more personable. I didn’t feel lectured to and it felt like a book I’d keep reading throughout the year. A great book for a reminder or reset.

I appreciated the way the author pulled from different cultures to create wellness practices or rituals that folks could integrate into their practice. Overall, I found this a great basic primer for someone who doesn't have well-developed practices or who needs new ideas. There were a few times I got caught up in gendered language that just didn't feel necessary or inclusive (for example, "you manage your boss more than your boyfriend" instead of "you manage your boss more than your partner/spouse").

Ryan Hopkins has made it quite big in wellbeing by sharing honest tips, apparently often from his bathroom, and being open and vulnerable about his own mental health struggles, something he also does in this book. And all power to him as men's mental health is so important and he does a good job of modelling how being open and honest can be.

Hopkins has read the books you imagine a young man writing about wellbeing and productivity will have done - Tim Ferriss and the like. Although he makes things varied and doesn't concentrate on men, he talks a lot about men's stuff and roles and I feel this might appeal more to male readers than female on a broad level (sorry!). He also has quite a silly sense of humour and constantly uses self-deprecation. The tips are pretty well all good solid ones and, as he promises in the introduction, include practical things to do to help oneself, rather than leaving the reader without solutions. There is a little bit of repetition which makes me think it might have been put together from a blog.

Hopkins finishes with a good solid chapter on wellbeing for neurodiverse people and how that can differ in the details from the tips he's shared through the book, before drawing the main strands together in his conclusion. I think everyone could gain from at least one tip in this book, and it might work best for those who are employed or have trouble switching off from their self-employment.

Reviewed on my book blog on 5 February: https://librofulltime.wordpress.com/2024/02/05/book-review-ryan-hopkins-52-weeks-of-wellbeing/