5 Things That Worked For Me in 2019
Last year, I wrote a post about 5 things that worked for me in 2018.
With 2019 wrapping up, I’ve been thinking about little changes that have improved my life this past year.
None of these are huge changes, but these new habits have all made a big difference in my daily contentment level.
5 Things That Worked For Me in 2019
1. Working outside the house. I’ve worked from home since 2012 when Bart decided to go back to school and I started trying to make a legitimate income on my blog. In all those years, it never occurred to me to go work somewhere outside my home. Plus, since 2013, I’ve had a home office, so it seemed natural that I’d just stay there to work.
Then, this year, when we got a new babysitter, I decided to work at our local library instead. And it has been LIFE-CHANGING.
I’m so much more productive because there are basically no distractions and it’s much easier on both me and my children for me not to be home but not available. I’m able to get my work done and then go fully into mom mode when I get home.
2. Saturday morning workout class. One of my personal quirks is that I am very bad at lazy days and it makes me super grumpy to waste away a Saturday morning and not feel like I’ve been productive (I’m a super fun person).
I started going to an early morning Saturday gym class this year and even though it means that I get up EARLIER on Saturday than any other day of the week, it makes me feel so good to have gotten up and gotten my workout in first thing. Plus, it’s so early that when I come home, everyone is generally still asleep and I have a little time to quietly read or respond to emails or do whatever I want before the day really begins.
Another bonus is that it forces me to go to bed on time on Friday night AND I’m tired enough to go to bed on time on Saturday night, which means the weekends don’t throw off my sleep schedule like they used to.
3. Switching to a menstrual cup. I know this seems so gross to some people, but now that I’ve made the switch, other options seem way more gross. I’ve had one (this one) for almost four years – right before I got pregnant with Tally – but finally this year I decided I was ready to make the switch. There was a pretty good learning curve for me, but once I got the hang of it, I can’t imagine going back.
It’s much less expensive, safer for your body, and better for the environment. Plus, just a whole lot less hassle.
4. Using the 20 minute cycle on our dishwasher. This is totally because our dishwasher (which is who knows how old) started leaking in the fall during any long cycles, thanks to Tally climbing on the door of it when it was open a few times, but we switched to the 20 minute cycle because it was the only one that wasn’t going to destroy the wood floors in our kitchen. And it’s AMAZING. If I’m making dinner, I can put all my prep dishes in the dishwasher along with the snack or lunch dishes and run a quick load that’s done by the time we’re ready to clean up the dinner dishes. I’m a big fan.
5. Put away my phone between my girls getting home from school and bedtime. This is SO HARD for me. But the longer I do it, the better I get at it and it’s ridiculous how much I can get done when I’m not constantly picking up my phone. I have plenty of time to play a few games with the girls, get the house cleaned up, start dinner, run errands, read my own books or any of the other things I always WANT to do, but never feel like I have enough time to do.
I have to recommit to this one every single day and I talk about it a lot with my girls and Bart so they can all keep me accountable.
I’m not perfect, but it’s been a huge improvement.
I started doing it as the holiday season (and related blog work) really started ramping up, but it’s been such a positive change that I’m planning to keep it up in the new year.
If you’ve switched changed up any of your routines this year, I’d love to hear what has worked for you!
If you liked this post about new habits, you might also like these posts:
- 12 inspiring books to start the year off right
- What our weekly routine looks like
- 13 tricks to keep your house clean(ish)
Our dishwashers short cycle is 1 hour, but I too, discovered it this year and love it. I’ve thought about a menstrual cup… But that’s it. My big love of the year has been weekly dates with my husband. So good for me and our relationship.
Great post ! I have been staring at the menstrual cup and have not gathered the strength to try it, I am so scared to put that thing inside me. I would love to try the dishwasher short cycle, mine runs a good 70 mins, and is just too long. I am definitely going to try the no phone after school pick up this year, and be more present with my kids.
What I changed this year was my skin care routine, it’s finally a habit and I used a habit app which I love. ( using the app was much more exciting !)
YES to the menstrual cup! I wish more women were talking about this. It will REVOLUTIONIZE your life, people! I feel convicted about my phone dependency and need to put it away in the evening hours. Thank you for that idea!
I also recently switched to a menstrual cup and I feel like I’ve come out of the dark ages! It’s completely life-changing.
Yes! After you switch, tampons and pads really do feel so archaic!
I started working at a Starbucks near our house this year for the same reasons, and I’m always blown away by how much faster and easier I can get my work done when I’m not answering questions from my kids every 10 seconds!
A goal of mine for 2020 is to be on my phone less. Thanks for sharing how you navigated that goal.
You have to be careful with the short cycle on the dishwasher. We used one all the time but apparently the water doesn’t get as hot as on the long cycle and it can clog the pump of the machine. This happened to ours. The guy who came to fix it held a long lecture (I know!) about how one should hardly ever use the short cycle. Only emergencies, he said.
Menstrual cups are such a game changer and one of my intentions for 2020 is dealing with my constant phone use!
I tried a menstrual cup a couple years ago and just couldn’t fully embrace it. Maybe at some point I’ll try a different brand. But this year I did switch to organic feminine products and it has been life changing!! It took away my debilitating cramps that I’ve always gotten the first couple days of my cycle, and made my cycle overall a lot lighter. I want to sing about it from the rooftops! I will say, though, that I love having a menstrual cup in my cupboard for emergency preparedness. 👍🏻 Definitely need to work on putting my phone away more this upcoming year!
I’ve tried other brands too and could NOT get them to work for me, so I think that does make a big difference!
Yes to menstrual cups. I tried one for a while that wasn’t great, and I’ve since done some research and found one that works so much better for me. I feel good about using less disposable products in my life. I also have purchased a few pairs of underwear with absorbant pads in them so I don’t even need to use panty liners anymore in case of leaks. I highly recommend checking some out. I have knix brand and they are so great. I can’t even tell the absorbent part is there. Now my periods are 100% waste free!
My dishwasher takes 97 minutes to run. A 20 min cycle is blowing my mind. (My dishwasher is probably over 15 years old, along with my stove. Some day will upgrade them.)
Do you have an apple watch or something for the evening hours? I’ve also been trying to put my phone away but I keep missing important messages, like my neighbor asking if she can borrow something or my mom wanting to know if we can Skype. I hate missing those messages but I also hate being on my phone all the time…
I don’t have an apple watch, but I do get texts on my computer and I’ll check it occasionally in the afternoon to make sure I haven’t missed anything.
Is the menstrual cup you linked the one you currently use? I was a little confused by the wording.
Yes, sorry! That one I linked to is the one I currently use and love.