notmynoise
Practice guide4–6 minutes5 sections

How to Turn Bad Days into Better Days

Begin step 1

How to Turn Bad Days into Better Days is a short visual guide for moments connected to low mood.

It covers one core idea: low mood makes decisions difficult, and perfectionism requires you to find the perfect option before taking action.

You will ask: “What is the smallest good enough step possible today?”, then choose what fits next.

The aim is A gentler next hour.

Edited aspractice guide·5 focused visual steps
Working edition 1Published July 22, 2026Last reviewed August 2, 2026Editorial standardsSuggest a correction
01
A person walking slowly along a calm shoreline, wrapped in a textured jacket and looking toward the water.

Step 1 of 5

Check your starting point: How to Turn Bad Days into Better Days

When the day gets darker and your mind notices only evidence that matches the mood…

Notice what fits this situation today:

  • Perfectionism paralyzes choice
  • A Good Enough Step Creates Movement
  • self-compassion supports action
  • I am not sure yet—I just want to understand
Next: Low mood makes decisions difficult, and perfectionism requires you to find the perfect option before taking…
02
A person walking slowly along a calm shoreline, wrapped in a textured jacket and looking toward the water.

Step 2 of 5

Low mood makes decisions difficult, and perfectionism requires you to find the perfect option before taking…

  • Low mood makes decisions difficult, and perfectionism requires you to find the perfect option before taking action.
  • It's more helpful to take a small enough step, focus on the desired direction, and talk to yourself as carefully as you would to a loved one on a bad day.
Next: Ask: “What is the smallest good enough step possible today?”
03
A person walking slowly along a calm shoreline, wrapped in a textured jacket and looking toward the water.

Step 3 of 5

Ask: “What is the smallest good enough step possible today?”

  • Pause for a few seconds. Check whether this practice feels safe enough right now.
  • Ask: “What is the smallest good enough step possible today?”.
  • Notice what changed in your body or thoughts. Do not grade yourself—collect information.

Quick check after the practice:

  • What changed, even by 1%?
  • What stayed the same?
  • What do you need now: continue, stop, or ask someone for support?
Next: What this may change: How to Turn Bad Days into Better Days
04
A person walking slowly along a calm shoreline, wrapped in a textured jacket and looking toward the water.

Step 4 of 5

What this may change: How to Turn Bad Days into Better Days

A gentler next hour.

The useful shift is more clarity, less autopilot, and one available choice.

Next: Choose a next step: How to Turn Bad Days into Better Days
05
A person walking slowly along a calm shoreline, wrapped in a textured jacket and looking toward the water.

Step 5 of 5

Choose a next step: How to Turn Bad Days into Better Days

You do not have to resolve this whole situation today. You worked directly with “How to Turn Bad Days into Better Days” and chose one possible response.

Choose what fits now:

  • “Save one next step”
  • “Come back later”
  • “I need support from a person”

After this guide

Keep the next step small.

A gentler next hour.

Back to Low MoodChoose another topic

Where to go next

Choose the next useful idea

Choose one if it fits what you need now.

Sources & evidence

Where this guide comes from

The book is the editorial starting point. The research below checks or qualifies the broader ideas used in this guide.

Adapted from

Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?

Chapter 4, “How to Turn Bad Days into Better Days” · source pages 47–54

View publisher record (opens in a new tab)
Written by
Julie Smith (opens in a new tab)Clinical psychologist with NHS and private-practice experience; not a medical doctor.
Edition used
Michael Joseph, an imprint of Penguin Random House UK, 2022 · ISBN 9780241529737
Formal review
The edition does not identify a formal peer-review or clinical-review panel. Publisher praise is not formal review.
Public endorsements — not formal review

Lori Gottlieb (opens in a new tab) — Psychotherapist and author

Editorial limitations of this book source
  • Broad popular self-help reference, not an individualized formulation or treatment plan.
  • Exercises involving exposure, breathing, nutrition, or inward attention are not suitable for every reader.
  • Scientific claims paraphrased for a general audience still need claim-level checking against primary research.
  • The source PDF contains an unrelated and medically unreliable second book after page 308; that material is excluded.

Research context

Supporting and qualifying references

Reviewed 2026-08-04

  1. 01

    Systematic Review And Meta Analysis · 2014

    Behavioural activation for depression: an update of meta-analysis of effectiveness and subgroup analysis (opens in a new tab)

    David Ekers, Lisa Webster, Annie Van Straten, et al. · PLOS ONE · DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0100100

    What it supports: Behavioral activation was effective for depression across included randomized trials.

    Limits and disclosures

    Limit: Most included studies were low quality and follow-up was short; tiny self-help actions are not equivalent to a full treatment.

    Disclosure: No product-specific conflict identified.

  2. 02

    Clinical Guideline · 2022

    Depression in adults: treatment and management (opens in a new tab)

    National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline committee · NICE Guideline NG222

    What it supports: Assessment, treatment choice, monitoring, and escalation for depression in adults.

    Limits and disclosures

    Limit: UK guideline; it supports care pathways rather than any particular NotMyNoise exercise.

    Disclosure: Guideline committee conflict processes are governed by NICE.

  3. 03

    Randomized Controlled Trial · 2018

    Treating Procrastination Using Cognitive Behavior Therapy: A Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial (opens in a new tab)

    Alexander Rozental, David Forsström, Philip Lindner, et al. · Behavior Therapy · DOI 10.1016/j.beth.2017.08.002

    What it supports: Structured CBT approaches can reduce severe procrastination in a studied university population.

    Limits and disclosures

    Limit: Ninety-two university students; it does not establish that any single two-minute or prioritization exercise is sufficient.

    Disclosure: No product-specific conflict identified in the PubMed record.