23% net optimism

↑+2pts on last week ↓-8pts on last year

22 May 2026

Nothing collapsed this week, everything slipped

Not a dramatic reading this week, it’s not breaking any records, but what’s happening underneath the number is essential intel. It's a story of a slow puncture.

We track around 20 personal priorities, and have done for seven years. Right now, 6 core elements to everyday life, are under serious pressure - hobbies, travel, health, romance, parents, friends, all down on last year. What’s filling the space? Well, we also track self-reported bad habits, guess what? All up. Too long online, too much social media, housework not done, not bothering to dress properly, poor sleep, smoking or vaping, too much TV – all moving in the wrong direction at the same time. No single one would be a drama, but together, it’s a slide we can all feel. We’re out of sorts.

Tiny improvements stack up into something transformative, tiny concessions do the same thing, in reverse. Ouch.

We’ve termed it “inverse atomic habits” and I think the framing is spot on. James Clear’s whole argument was that tiny improvements stack up into something transformative, tiny concessions do the same thing in reverse. The walk you meant to go on becomes a scroll through your phone. The ‘we should get together’ becomes ‘how about next month?’. Each one on its own is nothing. Together, it represents a nation losing grip on the things that used to come easily.

Home is where you see it most clearly. DIY and gardening both tracking below last year at exactly the point they should be climbing. The to-do list growing every weekend, nothing coming off it. The place that’s supposed to feel like yours is starting to feel like evidence of everything you’re not on top of.

The fix, when it comes, won’t be grand. It’ll be one thing getting slightly easier.

Based on Konfidant's weekly survey and qualitative interviews. Base: 2,000 UK adults per week.