3 Things I've Bought to Improve My Life Lately

Instead of doing a “favorites” post this quarter, I thought I’d highlight some of the things that I’ve bought recently that have ACTUALLY made a difference in my daily life. Hope you enjoy! 

Hello Fresh- I’ve been wanting to try a meal delivery service for some time now. I’ve known many other people who’ve tried them and I wanted to see if it would help me get back some more time in my week by not having to think of meals and buy all of the ingredients at the grocery store. They have some introductory pricing available for new customers, so our plan for 3 meals for 2 people came to just $24 for the first week and about $30 each week for the next month. Regular price is around $60, so it’s nice to get to try it out at a lower rate before deciding whether to keep my subscription. I will be sure to share my thoughts on Hello Fresh on my Instagram! 

New vacuum- This is how you know you are officially old- you spend your Friday night buying a new vacuum at the store and then coming home to put it together and vacuuming your entire house. Our old vacuum had completely lost its suction and we did our best to clean it up and clear it out ourselves, but in reality, the vacuum was 6 years old. As I was shopping around for new ones, it was very clear that they’ve made some big design and functionality improvements since 2013! I ended up with this Shark rocket stick vacuum because it works well for both carpet and hardwood floors, has a detachable hand vacuum and was ultra light with a self-cleaning brushroll. SO MUCH EASIER to vacuum! 

New books- I’m really excited to be starting The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin this week and I also grabbed the classic 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey in my order as well. Check out my 2019 Reading List or my post on Four (More) Books to Read in 2019 for some more book recommendations. 

Tell me about something that you’ve bought lately that has improved your life in the comments below. Have you tried a meal delivery service? What household item can you replace to make your cleaning more efficient? What books are you reading right now?

Have a great week, 

Meghan

Hey, I’m Meghan

I love coffee, yoga pants, planners and color coordinating markers. Sound familiar? Yes! Let’s be internet BFFs. I am here sharing content on all things organization, productivity, goal getting and personal growth. Welcome!

My Weekly Review Process

We all have a lot to do. Some of those things we *have* to do, like laundry, keep a child or pet alive, go to work, have food to eat, etc. and some of them are things that we’d like to do, like working out, reading, working on a big goal or dream, or having time for a hobby that just makes us happy.

The time that you have for the things you WANT to do usually depends on how efficiently you can get your “have to-dos” done. Every week, I spend time on Sunday evening to review my previous week and set myself up for the week ahead. Doing this allows me to have time for all of my must-dos and most importantly, allows me to MAKE time for the things I want to do. Here’s how I do it:

• Review the past week: I pull out my calendar (mine’s on paper, but yours could be digital as well) and look over the past week. I find it motivating to take a look at all of my wins for the week-the things I actually got done- and remind myself of the items that didn’t get prioritized and finished. If something didn’t get done, I ask myself if it is really something that still has to happen- and if it does, I move it to the coming week so I don’t lose track of it.

• Review next week’s calendar: I then go ahead to look at the next seven days. I look at my work schedule, our social calendar, the weather, etc. to start making a plan for how our week will flow. There are certain things I do every week- like cardio, reading my current book, posting a blog post, etc but my work schedule changes every week. I move my tasks around in the week to wherever  my open pockets of time are.

• Review the menu for the week: I recently posted all about how I meal plan for my household of two so I won’t reiterate that here, but I do plan our meals every week on Sunday.

• Review my goals: I’m a goal person. I have goals that I set each year, and then I break those down in quarterly and monthly goals so I can actually make progress on achieving them. See my 2019 goals here! Many people set goals but then don’t actually follow through on getting them done. Reviewing mine on a regular basis has been *KEY* to continuing to make progress. If you don’t have goals set at the moment, start now! You don’t have to wait for January 1st, or the first of the month, or for Monday to set goals. You can start today.

• Review my habits: When it comes to achieving your goals, daily habits are really the thing that make goals happen. Every week, I remind myself of the habits I want to put into every day so that I can keep moving forward. For me, that’s writing in my Start Today journal and reading for ten minutes in the morning.  In the evening, that means packing our lunches for work and calendar blocking my time for the next day.

Sunday is just that day where we spend a ton of time getting our lives together, right? Add a few of the things above to your Sunday, and you’ll really feel like you are all set for the new week. Monday doesn’t have to feel overwhelming if your Sunday was productive. Have a great week ahead!

Hey, I’m Meghan

I’m here sharing content all about pursuing your own version of more and loving how you feel doing it. If that sounds good to you, stick around and let’s be friends!

Flexible Meal Planning For Two

Meal planning- we’ve all heard about ad nauseam at this point. While I also tend to roll my eyes when someone talks about meal planning and prepping, I can’t deny its benefits. What to have for dinner and packing lunches can be a huge source of unneeded decision fatigue and meal planning really is the key to streamlining that part of your life so that you can better focus on the things that really matter.

When most people talk about meal planning, they are usually referring to cooking for a full family- spouses, kids, etc. I don’t have any children, so my husband and I are just cooking for two. Because of our lifestyle at the moment, we really don’t need to have a strict and structured meal plan- we have a bit of wiggle room to go with whatever we are feeling in the moment.

However, our work schedules don’t always overlap much- my husband goes to work early and therefore goes to bed early. I’m a night owl and my job means I'm often working evenings. Having food ready for my husband to have when he gets home is really nice so that he can stick to his sleeping schedule and I'm not rushing around like a crazy person, trying to get dinner done.

What I’ve started to do is pick three meals per week. I find recipes on Pinterest, and I follow some recipe bloggers like Emily Bites and I signed up for emails from Yummly, which has been super helpful on coming up with ideas.

I try to go grocery shopping just once a week. I grab what I need for meals that week and any regular groceries that we are out of, so that I have everything I need on hand to make dinners and pack lunches for the week.

I write the meals in my planner to remind me of the “plan” but I don’t really assign them to a specific day. I try to make a meal every day that I am at home, which for me is about three times a week. I try to make as much food as possible while I am cooking so that we can have leftovers for lunches or that my husband can warm up when I’m out of the house.

The point that I’m trying to make here is that meal planning and prepping should be totally customized to your lifestyle. If you’ve  tried meal planning in the past, but felt like it didn’t actually work out for you, it’s probably because you’ve tried to do it just like someone else you know or someone else you saw on the internet. When it comes to meal planning, don’t feel like it has to be perfectly structured to work. Make it work FOR you and for your lifestyle and it’s far more likely to stick.

P.S. Here’s a recipe we’ve loved recently- https://www.eatyourselfskinny.com/healthy-turkey-lettuce-wraps/

Hey, I’m Meghan

I’m here sharing content all about pursuing your own version of more and loving how you feel doing it. If that sounds good to you, stick around and let’s be friends!