Turn 1% of your day into enhanced happiness, connection, and well-being

1% Challenge

Are you ready to rewire your brain and train your attention so you can bring it where you want and keep it where you want? Do you want to boost your mood, resilience, sleep, happiness, and emotional regulation?


Join the 1% Challenge. Participation is simple, quick, accessible, and open to UVA employees and spouses on the UVA or UPG Health Plan. Through this challenge, you’ll have access to scientifically-proven tools, and learn skills to actually change your brain.

Research from Harvard has shown that 47% of the time we are NOT focusing on what we are doing, and what’s worse is that this persistent mind-wandering is associated with unhappiness. An untrained brain is often dominated by a self-critical and self-limiting narrative that we carry around in our heads and that keeps us stuck in the past and future. M.A. Killingsworth and D. T. Gilbert*

About the Challenge

How To Participate:

  1. Register or log into your eM Life account between Aug 2 – Aug 15.
  2. You are automatically enrolled in the challenge by engaging in eM Life offerings for at least 14 minutes between Aug 2 - Aug 15.
  3. Participate in live or on-demand sessions in the eM Life app or website for merely 14 minutes (1%) a day.
  4. Earn up to $50 in rewards by registering and being active in eM Life for 15 and 25 days of consecutive or nonconsecutive participation. You have 30 days from the day you start the challenge to earn your rewards.
  5. Your activity in eM Life will be tracked for you automatically, and your completion will be recorded automatically. If you earn rewards, you will receive them automatically in the Hoos Well portal within 2 weeks of the day you complete the challenge! 
  6. Redeem your Pulse Cash for gift cards or charitable donations when your 1% Challenge is complete.

What Are The Activities?

Invest 14 minutes a day in any of eM Life’s offerings:

  • “Mindful Daily” sessions: Live, 14-minute mindfulness sessions every day of the week, multiple times per day. eM Life's expert instructors deliver fresh approaches to learning new skills that help you integrate presence into your daily life.
  • Live, 30-minute guided practice sessions with expert teachers
  • Interactive “Ask A Teacher” sessions where instructors engage in an open dialogue with participants. This is an opportunity to connect with eM Life's expert instructors to ask questions about the skills you are working on.
  • Hundreds of hours of on-demand programs to support your mental well-being
  • Multi-week immersive programs on diverse topics such as “Skills to Thrive in Anxious Times,” “Stress Less, Live More”, and “Weight Balance for Life”
Log in to eM Life Read FAQ on the 1% Challenge View a flyer with more information
[The 2020 Challenge] gave me insight and a different perspective on my daily behavior and how I handle my work environment. Hoos Well Challenge Participant

Improve Your Daily Well-Being

2,500+ UVA employees and spouses participated in Hoos Well mindfulness challenges last year, and they experienced a 20% reduction in perceived stress scores. eM Life resources will arm you with tools to reduce anxiety, depression, impulsivity, and the impacts you feel from stress.

Contribute to the Greater Good

You can also contribute to the greater social good. The more you engage in the challenge, the more eM Life will donate to a charity of your choice. Create connection and worldwide well-being by joining a Vibe Tribe -- a community of people who are interested in supporting the same charity. Along the way you will see your minutes add up as well as those of your Tribe members. 

Participate in Our Research Study

To help shape the future of emotional well-being programming at UVA, consider participating in our research study. The 1% Challenge is one of three virtual programs offered in the study. By taking up to 5 surveys over the course of a year, employees and spouses on the UVA and UPG Health Plans can receive up to $120 in rewards. 

Learn more about the research study

FAQ

  • How do I sign up for the 1% Challenge?

    Log in or create an eM Life account. You are automatically enrolled when you practice mindfulness for at least 14 minutes between August 2 and August 15.

  • Who can participate in the 1% Challenge?

    Anyone can participate in the 1% Challenge as long as you have an account with eM Life. Don’t have an account? Create one here.

  • How do I start the 1% Challenge?

    To start the challenge, you must watch 14 minutes or more of any of our live or on-demand sessions. Since Mindful Dailies are just 14 minutes long, we suggest starting with that!

  • What types of programs qualify for the 1% Challenge?

    All of eM Life’s live sessions (such as Mindful Dailies, guided practices, applied programs, Ask A Teacher) and on-demand content qualify for the 1% Challenge – just make sure to watch the minimum of 14 minutes per day!

  • How do I track my progress?

    Log in to your eM Life account and go to the 1% Challenge page. If you have started your challenge, this page will display your dashboard and show you the days you missed, attended and still have left in the 1% Challenge. If you have not started your challenge it will give you more information to get started.

  • Why does it show I missed a day in the progress bar? I don’t think I have missed a day.

    Please make sure that the content you participated in falls inside the 24-hour range of the time zone you’ve selected in your Profile and is 14 minutes or more. If you believe there is an error, please contact support@emindful.com.

  • What if I miss a day?

    That’s ok, setbacks happen. You can still earn the 15 and 25 day rewards. These rewards can be earned nonconsecutively.

  • When do I earn rewards?

    The rewards are cumulative for the first 15 and 25 days, meaning if you complete 25 days of the Challenge, you will win the rewards for 15 and 25 days. You will earn the Mindfulness Practice Guide upon activation of your 1% Challenge, meaning the first day you complete 14 minutes of activity within the Challenge period.

  • What is a Vibe Tribe?

    Vibe Tribes™ is our pay-it-forward program to help you build purpose and social good. With every minute of mindfulness you practice, we donate to the charity of your choice. During the 1% Challenge, your minutes are doubled, making an even bigger impact.

  • When will I receive my rewards?

    Your earned rewards will appear in your portal account within 2 weeks of the day you complete the challenge.

Small changes lead to huge improvements in clarity and emotional balance. Even 1% of your day-14 minutes-will make a noticeable difference in your overall well-being. Mary Frances Southerland, Chief Administrative Officer, UVA Health

*Killingsworth, M. A., and D. T. Gilbert. “A Wandering Mind Is an Unhappy Mind.” Science 330, no. 6006 (November 12, 2010): 932–932.