01
Hand it to someone
Write it and give it to a real person, in the moment. Whenever you can, lead with this one.
One Small Note.
One Person Seen.
One Hundred Days.
100 Days of Yay is a simple practice: notice something good, write it down, give it away.
Daily recognition. Human connection. Collective impact.
Side effects of 100 Days of Yay may includeUnexpected magicNew friendshipsSerendipitous encountersSpontaneous smilesA softer worldCloser connectionsRipple effects
Why Yay, Why Now
Likes are disposable. Notes are forever.
We’ve never been more connected — and never more alone. Technology promised to bring us together; instead it’s built a culture of isolation. The World Health Organization now calls loneliness a global epidemic — 1 in 6 people on Earth, a quiet despair hiding in plain sight.
So we’re on a mission to bridge real connection — human to human, one note at a time. A wave of people pausing to tell someone, in writing, that they mattered: to their day, their week, their life. We’ve seen what sparks when it happens. It’s palpable. It’s a little bit of magic.
And it ripples. The person you Yay today might Yay someone else tomorrow, and on it goes — closer, kinder, and just maybe, a smidge softer, right when the world could use it.
Source: WHO Commission on Social Connection, 2025
What is a Yay?
A few words can stay with someone for a long time.
A Yay is a few honest words on paper. A thank-you, a compliment, an I-see-you — small enough to fit on the page, cherished long after the moment has passed.
And it means more than you think. Researchers proved it: people who wrote short notes of appreciation consistently underestimated their impact — recipients were more surprised, and more moved, than writers ever predicted. The words didn’t need to be perfect. The warmth was what landed.
Write one for the one who went the extra mile, the quiet hero who thinks nobody notices, the friend who always shows up, the stranger who made your morning. If someone made a moment better, that’s a Yay waiting to be written.
Yays end up taped to laptops, tucked in wallets, pinned to fridges — reread on the days they’re needed most.
The best Yays are specific, sincere, and true.
Source: Kumar & Epley, Psychological Science, 2018
You always makepeople feel welcome.I noticed.
#100DaysOfYayHow it works
100 Days + You.
Think of it as a quest: one Yay at a time, found wherever life already takes you — your morning routine, your home, your work. And when you’re ready, wander a little further: serendipity, new friends, and unexpected magic might be waiting just past your comfort zone.
Ways to Yay
Any one counts. But when you can, give one directly.
02
Leave it for someone
A Yay for a specific person, just without the handoff. Leave it somewhere you know they'll find it.
03
Leave it for whoever finds it
An open Yay for anyone. Leave it somewhere public and let the right person discover it.
04
Keep one for yourself
Write yourself a Yay and place it somewhere you'll see it often, like your mirror, desk, notebook, or bedside table.
Why 100 days?
100days
Why 100? Repetition is how the brain builds habits. Not in 21 days, like you’ve heard — researchers clocked real ones closer to 66. 100 is enough repetition to turn noticing the good in people from something you try into something you just do. The days don’t have to be consecutive. Miss one, come back. They just need to add up.
By day 100: a hundred people, a hundred moments — and a whole new way of seeing the world around you.
Source: Lally et al., University College London, 2009
Rachel Wilkins, Creator
Creator
Rachel Wilkins
I’ve spent over a decade building businesses and working alongside thousands of people, and somewhere in that time I noticed the same thing everywhere I looked: we’ve never been more in reach of each other, and never felt further apart.
We pass each other on the street without looking up. We scroll past the people we love instead of calling them. We notice things about strangers, the kindness, the effort, the small moments of grace, and we say little, because we’ve forgotten how.
I started writing notes because I wanted to find out what happens when we chase kindness on purpose, instead of leaving it to chance. What changes when we take the time to hand someone the note. What it does in my world when I do this. What mark it leaves on me, and on everyone it touches.
I don’t know everything that opens up when we do this. That’s the point. I’m Rachel Wilkins, and I’m finding out, one Yay at a time.
Take part
Get the Kit.
Everything you need to give your first Yay, today.
The Yay Kit
100 notes. 100 chances to make someone’s day.
- 100-sheet Yay notepad
- Yay journal
- Ways to Yay guide card
- #100DaysOfYay journey card
$29 · plus shipping
Ordering for someone else? You can mark it as a gift at checkout.
No kit? Any paper counts. The kit just makes it easier to begin.
Share your journey
Tag #100DaysOfYay and your Yay becomes part of the ripple.
Follow along
Stories from the first 100, as they happen.
Results of 100 Days of Yay may includeA fuller inbox of thank-yousStrangers who remember your nameA habit you didn't mean to keepA slightly softer world
A slightly softer worldA few things you’re probably wondering.
100 Days of Yay is a 100-day practice of written recognition: each day you take part, you leave someone a written Yay. A Yay is a short handwritten note that tells a real person they were seen.
Write one Yay today, then keep going until you reach 100. You need nothing but paper and a pen — the Yay Kit just makes it easier to begin.
There are four: hand it over, leave it, hide it, or keep it for yourself. Handing it over is where the magic really happens, but all four count just as much.
No. The days just need to add up to 100. Life happens — miss a day, come back, and keep going.
No. Left, hidden, or kept for yourself all count just as much — though handing it over is where the magic really happens.
Yes. Writing a Yay for yourself counts as one of your 100 days. Some days, the person who most needs to feel seen is you.
The Yay Kit is everything you need for the full 100 days. It contains a 100-sheet Yay notepad, a Yay journal, a Ways to Yay guide card, and a #100DaysOfYay journey card.
A Yay Kit is $29, plus shipping. Shipping is $8 in the US, $14 to Canada, and $22 to the rest of the world.
No. Taking part is free and any paper counts. The kit just makes it easier to begin.
Yes. Choose “this is a gift” at checkout, and we’ll leave the price off the packing slip.
No. The practice works completely offline. The hashtag’s there if you want company.
Start with one person.
One note. One moment of recognition.
Someone you’ll see today is one Yay away from feeling seen.
Write it.