The Hygge Manifesto meets Working Out Loud Circles: Introduction and Index Page

… my opening hypothesis is that this might be a marriage made in heaven. …

To mark November 2017’s Working Out Loud Week on the theme of deepening relationships and creating a legacy, I will be doing a series of posts on how the various elements of The Hygge Manifesto apply to Working Out Loud Circles.

“Hygge is a Danish and Norwegian word which can be described as a quality of cosiness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being (regarded as a defining characteristic of Danish culture).”
[taken from the Wikipedia entry for “hygge”]

“Hygge” is pronounced hoo-ga.

A “Manifesto” is “a written statement of the beliefs, aims, and policies of an organization, especially a political party” [taken from the Cambridge Dictionary entry for “manifesto”].

“The Hygge Manifesto” is described in Meik Wiking’s book “The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well”. It comprises the following separate posts:

1. Atmosphere: Turn down the lights.
2. Presence: Be here now. Turn off the phones.
3. Pleasure: Coffee, chocolate, cakes, candy. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!
4. Equality: “We” over “me”. Share the tasks and the airtime.
5. Gratitude: Take it in. This might be as good as it gets.
6. Harmony: It’s not a competition. We already love you. There is no need to brag about your achievements.
7. Comfort: Get comfy. Take a break. It’s all about relaxation.
8. Truce: No drama. Let’s discuss politics another day.
9. Togetherness: Build relationships and narratives. “Do you remember the time we …?”
10. Shelter: This is your tribe. This is a place of peace and security

(the elements will be updated with the hyperlinks to the posts when each is published)

[graphic taken from Meik Wiking’s book “The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well”]

The following video features Meik Wiking explaining hygge:

“Working Out Loud Circles” are groups of 5 people of any age meeting physically or virtually to go through a 12-week process of applied learning through a series of freely-available circle guides and in parallel working on a personal goal to be achieved by the end of the 12 weeks. The goal criteria are that you must be passionate about it, cannot do it fully on your own, can be achieved in the 12 weeks and can be framed as an exploration of a development activity.

From the outset of this series, it is clear that there is a similarity. Hygge is hard to define but is recognisable when you experience it. Unless you have been through a full 12-week working out loud circle and done the exercises in a circle where attendance throughout was approaching 100%, you cannot attempt to fully explain the experience or comment on its value.

Resources
My Top Ten Resources for Encouraging People To Actually Work Out Loud (as at 6 November 2017) (this post includes links to Working Out Loud resources)

Author Info
Simon Fogg is an IT professional who has worked in IT for all bar 8 months of his 34 year career to date. He delivers business consultancy, project management and service management services as part of the Claritas Solutions team in Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK. Claritas deliver solutions to clients in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors across the UK. He was first introduced to Working Out Loud Circles in 2016 and has since led 2 x 12-week global/virtual circles (using Slack and Zoom) and is currently recruiting and setting up for launching an “out-of-the-ordinary” (more than 5 people) 3rd circle on a trial Workplace by Facebook community in January 2018 with members already using the platform.