6 Things That Worked for Me This Year
Since 2018, I’ve usually written a post about a few things that worked for me that year (here’s the 2018 list, the 2019 list, the 2020 list, the 2022 list, and the 2023 list if you’re curious!).
It’s nice to look back on the previous year and think about what went WELL (especially before the season of goal setting where it’s easy to focus on what you DIDN’T do well).
As a fun bonus, for the past two years, I’ve had the Everyday Reading team weigh in on things that worked for them in the previous year and they’re here again!
I hope it gives you a little nudge to think about what worked well for you this year too!
Here are six things that worked for me this past year:
6 Things That Worked for Me This Year
- Daily family reading time. Homeschool is something that has worked well for our family this year but one of my favorite parts of homeschooling specifically has been daily family reading time. Every day for 30 minutes before lunch, we sit down and read silently for 30 minutes – it is such a nice break in my work day and I love that dedicated reading time that is often hard for me to come by. I’ve wanted to have reading as part of my work day for several years and never been able to make it happen, so this feels like a huge win for me!
- Getting a smart lock and camera for our front door. This is one of those things I wanted to do for a while and now that we’ve made the jump, I could never go back. From my kids being able to let themselves in to having my sister put my packages inside while we’re traveling, it has been the best thing. Plus, I love being able to see from my desk who is at the front door so I can ignore sales people! We went with Vivint and my affiliate code is JANSSEN30.
- My parents moving nearby. I haven’t lived near my parents really since I went to college two decades ago (except for in 2014 when the two big girls and I lived with them for about six weeks while Bart did an internship in Arizona). It has been magical having them move nearby and I’m still not over the delight of them coming over after church on Sunday for lunch or running errands with my mom. They’re headed to Paris for the next two years to serve a church mission so they’ll be gone for a bit, but it has been so great having them nearby and I can’t wait for many more years of seeing them all the time once they get back instead of a few times a year.
- Bart taking over menu planning. Earlier this year, I asked Bart to pick the meals for the week so I could put in my grocery order and it was so magical that I’ve had him do it ever since. I love not having to make that extra set of decisions and then if something isn’t good, it is his fault for picking a bad recipe! (I kid).
- Getting over my aversion to meetings. I do not like meetings but this fall I started having 2 different meetings with 2 of my team members every week. Frankly, I still don’t like meetings but we keep them quick and it is so helpful for me to be able to sync up with them every week and make sure we’re on the same page and we know what we need to do going forward for the week ahead.
- Buying a puzzle table. This is totally a small thing but it has been SO GREAT to finally buy a puzzle table (one of those things I thought was completely silly for years). Being able to work on a puzzle and then put it away so the dining table is clear has been such an upgrade to my life and let me do more of the hobby I love!
And here is what worked for my team members in 2024!
Analese
Quitting caffeine
I love pop. Especially Dr. Pepper Zero and Diet Coke. I drank 1-2 cans a day, with absolutely no intention of quitting…ever. However, I had some stuff going on healthwise we were trying to figure out and cutting out caffeine was part of the plan. It was SO hard and honestly still is. But I did it!! I still want something besides water to drink so I now drink Better Days Non-Caffeinated Greens and Canada Dry Zero Sugar Fruit Splash.
Closing Down the House
I’ve never been great at getting the house cleaned up before bedtime. My husband works a lot of long hours and by the time 9:00 rolls around and I’ve been single parenting it, my motivation is out the window. But I wanted to change that this year. I bought a Eufy robot vacuum as a trial run to see if it would motivate me and the kids to use 15 minutes each night to pick everything up on the main level so Eufy could vacuum while we sleep. And guess what – it worked!! I am embarrassingly happy and proud of myself on the mornings I come downstairs and everything is vacuumed and clean! (Side note: you don’t need a robot vacuum to accomplish this – but I needed that boost.)
Jen
Daily Workouts
I had my third baby this summer and started homeschooling my oldest daughter this fall. Needless to say I feel like I have been in a constant state of adjustment and readjustment and just when I think I’m getting into a good routine my baby’s sleep schedule changes or something else throws me for a loop. I have some fixed things in my routine that are pretty set including a weight training rec center class every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and I run every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Working out first sets me up for a much better day. I feel better physically and mentally and so much more ready to tackle the day!
Kelsey
Meal Planning for the Month
I used to spend an hour meal planning and writing out my grocery list every Sunday because of decision fatigue. I dreaded it! After discovering Naptime Kitchen’s monthly meal planning, I decided to give it a try, and it’s been LIFE CHANGING! Now, I spend just 20 minutes planning the whole month: I fill in important dates and after-school activities first, and then I add in crock pot meals for busy nights, meals my kids and husband love, and then I start plugging in what I have saved from cookbooks or Instagram. This makes writing my weekly grocery list easier, and instead of planning 52 times a year, I only do it 12!
Kristin
Weight Lifting
This year my goals centered around improving my health as I recovered from giving birth to my last baby. I generally don’t enjoy workout classes or running, so I was pleasantly surprised to find I enjoyed weight lifting quite a bit! Adding that to my usual walks and yoga has been fantastic and I plan to keep it up long term. (For most of the year, I used the Sadie Active app and it was great. I just started this YouTube series though and I’ve been SUPER impressed with it!)
I’d love to hear what worked for you this year!
