This year... we're reclaiming Blue Monday. Movie-style.
Welcome to Red Carpet Monday.
This year... we're reclaiming Blue Monday. Movie-style.
Welcome to Red Carpet Monday.
Blue Monday has been labelled ‘the most depressing day of the year’ – but the truth is, it was never based on science. It was the basis of a marketing campaign. And while the January blues are very real, I don’t believe we need to accept one specific Monday as something to dread.
That’s why I’m reclaiming it.
Red Carpet Monday (January 19th) is a joyful, cinematic alternative to Blue Monday. It’s a chance to flip the script on the start of the year, add colour to the grey, and show up differently for one day – without pressure, perfection, or a total life overhaul.
Think of it as a scene change. A turning point.
A reminder that even in January, on a grey Monday, we’re allowed to create moments that feel meaningful, playful, and memorable.
To make it easy (and fun) to take part, I’ve created a free Red Carpet Monday Official Playbook. Inside, you’ll find simple ideas, prompts, and inspiration to help you reclaim the day in your own way.
Just scroll down to join in as we roll out the red carpet and reclaim Blue Monday… movie-style.
You'll get a free guide straight to your inbox with all the details for what you can do to celebrate Red Carpet Monday!
I want this to be an annual event. A movement. A revolution!
So... who's in?
Blue Monday has been labelled ‘the most depressing day of the year’ – but the truth is, it was never based on science. It was the basis of a marketing campaign. And while the January blues are very real, I don’t believe we need to accept one specific Monday as something to dread.
That’s why I’m reclaiming it.
Red Carpet Monday (January 19th) is a joyful, cinematic alternative to Blue Monday. It’s a chance to flip the script on the start of the year, add colour to the grey, and show up differently for one day – without pressure, perfection, or a total life overhaul.
Think of it as a scene change. A turning point.
A reminder that even in January, on a grey Monday, we’re allowed to create moments that feel meaningful, playful, and memorable.
To make it easy (and fun) to take part, I’ve created a free Red Carpet Monday Official Playbook. Inside, you’ll find simple ideas, prompts, and inspiration to help you reclaim the day in your own way.
Just scroll down to join in as we roll out the red carpet and reclaim Blue Monday… movie-style.
You'll get a free guide straight to your inbox with all the details for what you can do to celebrate Red Carpet Monday!
I want this to be an annual event. A movement. A revolution!
So... who's in?
Get Your Free Playbook!
Ready for Red Carpet Monday? Fill in this short form and we'll email you the Official Playbook!
Get Your Free Playbook!
Ready for Red Carpet Monday? Fill in this short form and we'll email you the Official Playbook!
Why I’m Reclaiming Blue Monday – And Turning It Into Red Carpet Monday
January and I have never been friends.
I suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), and every year I feel it arrive almost on cue. Christmas ends, the sparkly lights come down, the colour drains from the world (at least in the UK, where I live), and suddenly everything feels colder, darker, and heavier. I find myself counting down the days until spring, waiting for the clocks to go forward, longing for longer evenings and lighter mornings. January becomes something to endure rather than experience.
And yet, life is short. Painfully, beautifully short – something that’s really been hammered home to me over the past couple of years, with multiple family members sadly passing away, including my mum. When I really stop and think about it, wishing away an entire month of my life – every single year – feels like a strange bargain to make. And it’s one that I’ve made far too many times.
What finally tipped me over the edge was learning the truth about Blue Monday (the third Monday in January). The so-called ‘most depressing day of the year’ wasn’t discovered by scientists or psychologists. It wasn’t born from research into mental health or wellbeing. It was created as a marketing ploy to sell holidays (and I’m all about travel, but not when we’re manipulated into it!). It’s a concept pulled from thin air that somehow embedded itself so deeply into our culture that millions of people now brace themselves for misery every January – especially on January 19th, this year’s official date for Blue Monday.
That didn’t sit right with me at all.
If something was invented, I thought, it could be reinvented. If a story was made up, it could be rewritten. If someone could use a date to make people feel miserable, surely you could take that same date and use it to make people feel marvellous? After all, it’s up to us to decide what we do with our lives, even on the third Monday in January.
And that’s when I realised this wasn’t just an annoying fact – it was an opportunity.
A scene change, not a denial of reality
Red Carpet Monday isn’t about pretending January is easy. It isn’t about bypassing genuine struggles or glossing over the very real challenges that winter can bring. Seasonal Affective Disorder is real. Loneliness is real. Low energy, low motivation, and post-Christmas emotional comedowns are real.
But so is our ability to reframe how we meet those moments.
Red Carpet Monday is a joyful, cinematic alternative to Blue Monday. It’s an invitation to consciously flip the script on the day we’ve been told to dread, and instead approach it with colour, intention, and a little bit of movie magic.
Think of it as a scene change. A turning point in the story rather than a grim chapter to slog through. We can change the way we view this day every year, just like we can change the way we view ourselves – and the world in general.
Why I see the world through a cinematic lens
I’m the founder of Movify Your Life, a movie-themed personal development brand built on a simple but powerful idea: what if we decided to live a movie-worthy life we’ll be proud of when the credits roll?
So many people feel stuck, bored, or dissatisfied, even when everything looks ‘fine’ on paper. Days blur into one another. Weeks pass without anything memorable happening. Life starts to feel like filler scenes rather than a story with momentum and meaning. We feel like background characters in our own lives. Especially since the pandemic. People picked up habits during the lockdowns that may still be lingering. Like not going out as much. Not seeing other people as much. Not living as much.
Movify Your Life is here to change that.
It’s about becoming the person you need to be to step into your Main Character Era, then creating a life so epic it feels like it belongs on the big screen. Because life isn’t meant to feel dull, directionless, or like something you simply have to survive; it should be as exciting and incredible as your favourite uplifting film.
Movify Your Life is the plot twist you’ve been waiting for.
What does ‘Movify’ actually mean?
At the heart of everything I do is the idea of movifying your life.
mov•i•fy (verb)
To transform one’s life, experiences, or everyday moments to feel more like an epic, uplifting movie; to add excitement, adventure, or cinematic flair to ordinary situations by creating Magical Movie Moments you’ll never forget.
Movifying your life doesn’t necessarily require quitting your job, booking a one-way ticket, or reinventing yourself overnight. It starts with perspective. With intention. With choosing to look at the world through a more playful, curious, cinematic lens. With deciding to have fun during our short stint on this beautiful, incredible planet – and by taking inspiration from the movies to do it.
It’s about asking, how could this moment feel a little more meaningful, a little more special, a little more alive?
Which brings me back to January – and to Red Carpet Monday.
What is Red Carpet Monday?
Red Carpet Monday takes place this year on January 19th, reclaiming Blue Monday and reframing it as something worth showing up for.
At its core, the idea is intentionally simple. Red Carpet Monday invites people to add a touch of colour, joy, and intention to an otherwise ordinary Monday by following five fun steps.
This includes wearing red (the official colour of Red Carpet Monday and Movify Your Life), playing uplifting music or crafting your own epic soundtrack, doing one ‘movified’ activity that breaks routine and moves you forward towards your epic movie-worthy life, celebrating with a cosy, feel-good movie night that inspires you and connects you and your loved ones, and then spreading the joy by posting about your fabulous Red Carpet Monday online so others can do the same – either this year or the next.
Why this matters beyond one Monday
Red Carpet Monday isn’t really about one specific day in January (though I hope we can all come together on that specific day to celebrate, for years to come).
It’s about the power of words – and the power of our intentions.
When we label a day as depressing, we subconsciously prepare ourselves for disappointment. We lower our expectations. We stop looking for moments of light in the darkness. And, more often than not, the day delivers exactly what we were expecting.
But when we change the story – even slightly – the experience changes too.
Red Carpet Monday is a reminder that joy doesn’t have to be accidental. That small rituals can have a surprisingly big impact. And that even in the depths of winter, we’re allowed to create moments that feel warm, playful, and meaningful. We can create moments of movie magic. We can Movify our lives.
Meet your Chief Movifier
Hi, I’m Jess.
I’m a British author, podcaster, filmmaker, course creator, and the founder of Movify Your Life. I’m on a mission to help people who feel like background characters step into their Main Character Energy and create bold, regret-free lives they’ll be proud of when the credits roll.
Through my moviementary (a documentary with a twist, available on YouTube), book, podcast, weekly email (Main Character Memo), online courses, and tools like the Movie Star Alter Ego, I’m working towards empowering one million people to Movify Their Lives and creating a global movement rooted in one powerful belief: life is short, and we all deserve to live an epic life fit for the big screen.
I know how it feels to play a supporting role in your own story; I’ve been there myself. That’s why I set out on my own magical mission – to make my life feel like an uplifting, movie-worthy adventure, and to help others do the same.
Red Carpet Monday is a natural extension of that mission, and one we can celebrate – together – every year.
A Red Carpet Invitation
For anyone who would like to take part in Red Carpet Monday, I’ve created a free Red Carpet Monday Playbook that gives you the full details and brings everything together in one place. You can get it at the top of this page – but even if you don’t download the guide, you can still celebrate Red Carpet Monday. If you do, I’d love for you to use the hashtags #redcarpetmonday and #movifyyourlife so I can see all the wonderful things you get up to. You can also tag me on Instagram @movifyyourlife or email me at [email protected].
Whether you go all in or simply make one small shift, the message is the same.
Life is too short to wish entire months away. Even on a grey Monday in January, we’re allowed to roll out the red carpet and sprinkle a little movie magic on our lives. Because everyone deserves to live an epic life fit for the big screen.
This year, I’m ditching the blue and choosing Red Carpet Monday instead.
I hope you’ll join me.
Jessica Grace Coleman
Chief Movifier & Director of Movify Your Life
Why I’m Reclaiming Blue Monday – And Turning It Into Red Carpet Monday
January and I have never been friends.
I suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), and every year I feel it arrive almost on cue. Christmas ends, the sparkly lights come down, the colour drains from the world (at least in the UK, where I live), and suddenly everything feels colder, darker, and heavier. I find myself counting down the days until spring, waiting for the clocks to go forward, longing for longer evenings and lighter mornings. January becomes something to endure rather than experience.
And yet, life is short. Painfully, beautifully short – something that’s really been hammered home to me over the past couple of years, with multiple family members sadly passing away, including my mum. When I really stop and think about it, wishing away an entire month of my life – every single year – feels like a strange bargain to make. And it’s one that I’ve made far too many times.
What finally tipped me over the edge was learning the truth about Blue Monday (the third Monday in January). The so-called ‘most depressing day of the year’ wasn’t discovered by scientists or psychologists. It wasn’t born from research into mental health or wellbeing. It was created as a marketing ploy to sell holidays (and I’m all about travel, but not when we’re manipulated into it!). It’s a concept pulled from thin air that somehow embedded itself so deeply into our culture that millions of people now brace themselves for misery every January – especially on January 19th, this year’s official date for Blue Monday.
That didn’t sit right with me at all.
If something was invented, I thought, it could be reinvented. If a story was made up, it could be rewritten. If someone could use a date to make people feel miserable, surely you could take that same date and use it to make people feel marvellous? After all, it’s up to us to decide what we do with our lives, even on the third Monday in January.
And that’s when I realised this wasn’t just an annoying fact – it was an opportunity.
A scene change, not a denial of reality
Red Carpet Monday isn’t about pretending January is easy. It isn’t about bypassing genuine struggles or glossing over the very real challenges that winter can bring. Seasonal Affective Disorder is real. Loneliness is real. Low energy, low motivation, and post-Christmas emotional comedowns are real.
But so is our ability to reframe how we meet those moments.
Red Carpet Monday is a joyful, cinematic alternative to Blue Monday. It’s an invitation to consciously flip the script on the day we’ve been told to dread, and instead approach it with colour, intention, and a little bit of movie magic.
Think of it as a scene change. A turning point in the story rather than a grim chapter to slog through. We can change the way we view this day every year, just like we can change the way we view ourselves – and the world in general.
Why I see the world through a cinematic lens
I’m the founder of Movify Your Life, a movie-themed personal development brand built on a simple but powerful idea: what if we decided to live a movie-worthy life we’ll be proud of when the credits roll?
So many people feel stuck, bored, or dissatisfied, even when everything looks ‘fine’ on paper. Days blur into one another. Weeks pass without anything memorable happening. Life starts to feel like filler scenes rather than a story with momentum and meaning. We feel like background characters in our own lives. Especially since the pandemic. People picked up habits during the lockdowns that may still be lingering. Like not going out as much. Not seeing other people as much. Not living as much.
Movify Your Life is here to change that.
It’s about becoming the person you need to be to step into your Main Character Era, then creating a life so epic it feels like it belongs on the big screen. Because life isn’t meant to feel dull, directionless, or like something you simply have to survive; it should be as exciting and incredible as your favourite uplifting film.
Movify Your Life is the plot twist you’ve been waiting for.
What does ‘Movify’ actually mean?
At the heart of everything I do is the idea of movifying your life.
mov•i•fy (verb)
To transform one’s life, experiences, or everyday moments to feel more like an epic, uplifting movie; to add excitement, adventure, or cinematic flair to ordinary situations by creating Magical Movie Moments you’ll never forget.
Movifying your life doesn’t necessarily require quitting your job, booking a one-way ticket, or reinventing yourself overnight. It starts with perspective. With intention. With choosing to look at the world through a more playful, curious, cinematic lens. With deciding to have fun during our short stint on this beautiful, incredible planet – and by taking inspiration from the movies to do it.
It’s about asking, how could this moment feel a little more meaningful, a little more special, a little more alive?
Which brings me back to January – and to Red Carpet Monday.
What is Red Carpet Monday?
Red Carpet Monday takes place this year on January 19th, reclaiming Blue Monday and reframing it as something worth showing up for.
At its core, the idea is intentionally simple. Red Carpet Monday invites people to add a touch of colour, joy, and intention to an otherwise ordinary Monday by following five fun steps.
This includes wearing red (the official colour of Red Carpet Monday and Movify Your Life), playing uplifting music or crafting your own epic soundtrack, doing one ‘movified’ activity that breaks routine and moves you forward towards your epic movie-worthy life, celebrating with a cosy, feel-good movie night that inspires you and connects you and your loved ones, and then spreading the joy by posting about your fabulous Red Carpet Monday online so others can do the same – either this year or the next.
Why this matters beyond one Monday
Red Carpet Monday isn’t really about one specific day in January (though I hope we can all come together on that specific day to celebrate, for years to come).
It’s about the power of words – and the power of our intentions.
When we label a day as depressing, we subconsciously prepare ourselves for disappointment. We lower our expectations. We stop looking for moments of light in the darkness. And, more often than not, the day delivers exactly what we were expecting.
But when we change the story – even slightly – the experience changes too.
Red Carpet Monday is a reminder that joy doesn’t have to be accidental. That small rituals can have a surprisingly big impact. And that even in the depths of winter, we’re allowed to create moments that feel warm, playful, and meaningful. We can create moments of movie magic. We can Movify our lives.
Meet your Chief Movifier
Hi, I’m Jess.
I’m a British author, podcaster, filmmaker, course creator, and the founder of Movify Your Life. I’m on a mission to help people who feel like background characters step into their Main Character Energy and create bold, regret-free lives they’ll be proud of when the credits roll.
Through my moviementary (a documentary with a twist, available on YouTube), book, podcast, weekly email (Main Character Memo), online courses, and tools like the Movie Star Alter Ego, I’m working towards empowering one million people to Movify Their Lives and creating a global movement rooted in one powerful belief: life is short, and we all deserve to live an epic life fit for the big screen.
I know how it feels to play a supporting role in your own story; I’ve been there myself. That’s why I set out on my own magical mission – to make my life feel like an uplifting, movie-worthy adventure, and to help others do the same.
Red Carpet Monday is a natural extension of that mission, and one we can celebrate – together – every year.
A Red Carpet Invitation
For anyone who would like to take part in Red Carpet Monday, I’ve created a free Red Carpet Monday Playbook that gives you the full details and brings everything together in one place. You can get it at the top of this page – but even if you don’t download the guide, you can still celebrate Red Carpet Monday. If you do, I’d love for you to use the hashtags #redcarpetmonday and #movifyyourlife so I can see all the wonderful things you get up to. You can also tag me on Instagram @movifyyourlife or email me at [email protected].
Whether you go all in or simply make one small shift, the message is the same.
Life is too short to wish entire months away. Even on a grey Monday in January, we’re allowed to roll out the red carpet and sprinkle a little movie magic on our lives. Because everyone deserves to live an epic life fit for the big screen.
This year, I’m ditching the blue and choosing Red Carpet Monday instead.
I hope you’ll join me.
Jessica Grace Coleman
Chief Movifier & Director of Movify Your Life
