Innovecs’ 30-Day Challenge: Building Healthy Habits Together

Nataliia Horova

PR&Media Relations Specialist

November 8, 2024 min read

Quick summary

As autumn rolled in, with shorter days and cooler temperatures, Innovecs introduced a new initiative to get a boost of energy and foster a healthy workplace community. Inspired by the popular 75-day challenge but adapted to our needs, we launched the 30-Day Healthy Habits Challenge to help our teammates build wellness routines and recharge in a supportive, fun and motivating environment.

Let’s see how we spent October at Innovecs!

Building Habits That Last

From October 2 to October 31, our team members joined us on a journey to improve four key areas of well-being:

Healthy diet: Incorporate healthy foods into daily routine without strict dietary rules.
Daily physical activity: Commit to at least 30 minutes of activity each day.
Hydration: Stay mindful of water intake, keeping a glass or bottle nearby.
Personal development: Dedicate time each day to read or listen to audiobooks, nurturing both body and mind.

With a shared Telegram group as our hub, innovecsers tracked their progress, shared tips and tasty meals, recommended books and motivated each other. This approach turned our individual goals into a team effort, making every small win a shared celebration.

“My fitness app analytics says that I walked more in October. Overall, I like how my month looks in this statistic. So I also want to thank you for organizing this challenge, as well as for the support and motivation. I really enjoyed it” – Oleksandra Herasymovych, Junior Recruiter, and challenge winner.

Weekly Progress and Tips from Teammates

Week 1 highlights: Teammates shared hydration tips (keeping a bottle on hand really helps!) and advised bringing home-cooked meals to the office to avoid unhealthy snacks. The power of community showed as challengers found encouragement from like-minded peers.

Week 2 tips: Embracing consistency was the focus this week. Participants advised taking personal time to recharge daily and welcomed the challenge’s physical demands, seeing growth in both body and mind.

Week 3 boost: Creativity took center stage with a workout playlist filled with our challengers’ song picks and the start of a recipe exchange. We looked forward to enjoying healthy dishes inspired by our teammates!

Week 4 highlights: Our participants collectively walked, ran, and covered over 100 kilometers in one week. We also organized an internal voting for the most inspiring teammate, adding an extra layer of camaraderie and excitement.

Our results: Achievements to celebrate

Week 5 finale: After a month of hard work, dedication, and loads of positive energy, the final week was the perfect time to celebrate our amazing challengers. Over 30 days, participants pushed themselves through hours of exercise, walked or ran dozens of kilometers, stayed hydrated, kept up with their reading goals, and shared tips and encouragement.

“As you might notice, this is not my first month of this kind of challenge. For me, it started at the beginning of the summer. Slowly but surely, I am building up the necessary training equipment to achieve my goals, and I will definitely continue after this challenge ends. Additionally, I enjoyed looking at what our colleagues' tasty meals look like.” – Oleh Zhmaiev, Senior QA Automation Engineer, and challenge winner.

The challenge wrapped up on October 31, and it was truly heartwarming to see the dedication and team spirit shine through. Our participants worked on their own habits and created something lasting for all of us to enjoy — a Spotify playlist to energize our workouts and a community cookbook brimming with our teammates’ favorite healthy recipes.

Check out the playlist on Spotify here to keep the energy going, and don’t forget to download our cookbook below for some inspiring recipes!

DOWNLOAD
COOKBOOK HERE

“Thanks to all the organizers for this challenge. My colleagues' reports were motivating for me. I bought a watch for counting steps and now I know exactly how much I walk during the day. I also started drinking more water. Although this is the most difficult for me.“ – Yuliia Syvyryn, Talent Sourcing Specialist, and challenge winner.

Awards for the Top Performers

1st Place: A one-on-one fitness consultation with Ukrainian fitness expert Anita Lutsenko.

2nd Place: A gift card to the shop with a wide range of products.

3rd Place: A gift certificate for a bookstore.

Additionally, we wanted to give special recognition to one of our teammates whose enthusiasm and dedication truly stood out, awarding them an Honorable Mention. To make this challenge even more personal, we invited everyone to vote for a Challenger’s Choice Award — a way to celebrate the participant who inspired us all the most. This heartfelt recognition added a deeper sense of appreciation for everyone’s unique contributions and commitment, making our journey even more meaningful.

"Inspired by my own experience with a similar challenge, I knew how impactful it could be to build these small, healthy habits — and I wanted to share that with our team. Going through it myself earlier in the year, I saw how much of a difference it made in my daily routine and well-being — and with fall settling in, I thought innovecsers could use the same boost. It’s been amazing watching everyone cheer each other on, swap tips, and build these routines together. It’s proof that, with a little support, we can create changes that stick! Plus, seeing our Innovecs community come together for this challenge has been incredibly rewarding." – Oleksandra Zaiets, PR & Communications Specialist and Challenge Moderator

As we wrap up this initiative, we’re marking each step taken, every glass of water enjoyed, every page turned, and every encouraging message shared along the way. Together, we’ve shown that even the smallest, simplest actions can create lasting, positive change. Here’s to carrying these healthy habits — and this sense of togetherness — into the seasons ahead!