For many years now, I’ve used the same two reflection questions to help me take stock of the year gone by. While I have long lists of assessment questions I use for various aspects of my personal life and my work, I’m repeatedly drawn back to the simplicity and versatility of this pair:
- What worked for me last year?
- What didn’t?
Today I’m talking about the things that worked for me; just like in years gone by, I’ll share my list of what didn’t work in the newsletter. Sign up here if you’re not on the list.
I’ve been blogging about these year-end reflections since 2013. Some things have changed little over the years, while some of my long-ago changes are now thoroughly incorporated into my life, like 2013’s “taking a photography class” and “setting up designated office space for myself.” There’s no going back! Sometimes the things that work are specific to the season, but more often they get folded into my ongoing routines. Perhaps this is why the What Worked for Me archives remain entertaining and interesting reading: check out my recent-ish lists from 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, and 2018.)
I hope, pray, and intend that this is the last year for a good long while that I’ll say this but: 2025 was rough. My (private) list of things that didn’t work isn’t particularly long, but it sure packed a wallop. Perhaps mercy looks like a remarkably long list of thing that did work. I’ve shared an even twenty below, but I could have kept going. Most sound like small things, but let me roll out an old Annie Dillard standby for you: “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing.”
Below is a sampling of what filled my days in 2025. I hope you enjoy perusing my list, and that it gets you thinking about your own. You know we’d love to hear your own reflections in comments.
Reading and Writing
Good books. This may seem silly to say, but 2025 was full of very good books. And don’t very good books make everything better? (My favorite books of 2025 are right here, and my favorite audiobooks are here. I talk more in detail about these and toss in a few more titles in this week’s What Should I Read Next episode #508, called Anne’s Best Books of 2025.)
Nonfiction on audio. I didn’t see this one coming. With the exception of memoir, nonfiction has historically not worked well for me on audio. But in 2025, some of my very favorite listens were narrative nonfiction. I’m planning on continuing my happy trend in early 2026 with more from Garrett Graff and Patrick Radden Keefe; I hope you know I’m always open to recommendations in comments! Case in point …
The comments section. The MMD blog comments have been an endless source of inspiration this year. For book recommendations, recipes, organizing ideas, makeup products … you name it!
Don’t Overthink It continues to resonate. For reasons that are invisible to me, my book that came out on March 3, 2020 (OOF) sold very well in 2025. My publisher doesn’t update me on sales in real time, so when I received my latest biannual status update last month, I was SHOCKED to see how strong sales were from February to August (not typically peak book buying time for a book like Don’t Overthink It). I am thrilled that this book continues to find its audience more than five years later. I wish I could say what it is exactly that’s working, but it’s working.
Links I Love. This little Friday dispatch has grown ever closer to my heart over the many years. I so enjoy lovingly curating each week’s assortment of the best things I read on the internet each week, plus a few favorite things. Every once in a while I invite a team member to get in on the action and share their own curated collection; reading these is pure joy.
Good old-fashioned newsletter writing. After several years of not sending a regular newsletter (more on that in what didn’t work, coming this weekend), this fall I resumed sending the kinds of email updates I used to regularly write back in the day: longish, chatty, reflective, photo-filled messages about real life, lately. Putting these together—and reading your responses—has brought me something I didn’t know I was missing. I’m looking forward to writing more of these little updates in 2026.
Journals and hats. As a team, we really enjoy dreaming up new items for our MMD/WSIRN shop, and it’s always fun to send those new goodies out into the world. But sometimes the stuff we dream up is especially good, and especially well received—like with our Well Read hats and our MMD Ampersand Leuchtturms* in four gorgeous colors. I love that YOU love these readerly goodies, and I really love that many of our readers go on to send us photos of themselves wearing our hats or using our journals. (We LOVE your photos—keep ’em coming!)
*Funny thing: I’ve been learning German since I was a kid. I’ve been using Leuchtturm journals for fifteen years. We first sold custom Leuchtturms in our MMD shop in 2017. But it was only in late 2025 that I learned that Leuchtturm is not just a family name or brand name but actually means “lighthouse” in German. How did I not know this? Also: thank you, Duolingo.
Home stuff
My little plant hygrometer. I’ve been tending houseplants since my college days and many houseplants for over ten years, but this past spring I finally sprung for an inexpensive plant moisture reader. It hasn’t dramatically changed any of my watering habits; mostly it’s served to confirm my instincts, e.g., yes, that peace lily’s soil is not oversaturated even though it seems to drink up 4x more water than any of my other plants. This $8 gizmo has proved to be so handy that I wish I’d gotten one eons ago.
And a hygrometer for our home, paired with a humidifier. Another inexpensive purchase I wish I’d made years ago. I bought this in the final days of 2024 to monitor home humidity levels and it’s been wonderful. In fact, it quickly prompted such a big change that I immediately wrote about it in last year’s edition of what worked for me, but it felt worth repeating since now we have a longer track record. Our household winter air was previously SO VERY DRY, but now we’re keeping the humidity in that 30–50% range and it’s such a relief: my skin isn’t so dry, my scalp isn’t itchy, my nasal passages feel better, and it just feels better to breathe. This humidifer is similar to the model we’re using, though I got ours at Costco.
Playful sheets. I feel like we made the switch from crisp white linens to fun and funky prints forever ago, but my email order history tells me nope, it was just last May. It all began when I fell in love with this specific floral set on Anthropologie—and Will and I loved it so much we then impulse bought more soon-to-be-discontinued patterns when they went on deep discount in the summer. The colorful sheets provide a little burst of cheerfulness, and also—in my opinion—they’re easier to keep looking fresh than white ones.
Quirk and funk. I’ve really been trying to loosen up and have fun with low-stakes house stuff, trying things that may seem a little out there (by my standards) but that feel like us. We’ve brought in bolder colors, hung wallpaper, bought beautiful art that spoke to us on the spot—and it’s feeling really good and warm in my house. My mind keeps coming back to this this House Beautiful piece I read late last year that talks about “the twin goalposts of quirk and funk” that guided one individual through a satisfying home design project. The phrase has been in my mind ever since. My version of “funky” may be pretty buttoned-up to most people but I’m enjoying the experimentation—and its results.
Candle service. “Evening candles” was on my 2024 list as well, but this year I’ve thought about it a bit differently, thanks to our MMD Book Club author talk with Paige Harbison about her novel The Other Side of Now. During our conversation she described her own strikingly familiar ritual of evening candles, but she did me one better by giving hers a name: “candle service.” I loved her phrase and adopted it immediately, and have found the small change in semantics elevates the way I’ve thought about our own little ritual.
Instant Pot. We’ve had this for years but I worked it hard this year. Sure, I could get the same results by planning ahead a little more, but that didn’t happen in 2025 … so it was often Instant Pot to the rescue come dinner hour. Favorite recipes (that I’ve already shared in Links I Love, in case these sound familiar) are BBQ pulled chicken, Pressure Cooker Lentil Soup with Sausage, and Pasta Bolognese.
Personal care
Lip care. It took me decades to figure out the moisturizer + Aquaphor combo but it is MAGIC. (If you need it spelled out for you, like I did: I’m talking a good basic moisturizer like Cerave or Vanicream, under the Aqhaphor, ideally with a few minutes between the application of each product.) How did I not know this already?
Hair care. I was way too proud when my stylist called my hair “so healthy!” recently. My hair has mostly been a source of angst these past few years: I’ve lost a bunch (due to stress or perimenopause or some combination thereof) and dealing with that has been rough. I’m relieved it’s more or less grown back, and I’m taking care to keep it happy. Instead of putting it up in a ponytail at night, I’ve been using these mini jaw clips to secure it in a bun, with the goal being less breakage. Product-wise, for the past year I’ve been loving this leave-in conditioner or the Color Wow’s Extra Strength Dream Coat Ultra-Moisturizing Anti-frizz Treatment, along with the Olaplex 7 bonding oil.
Play
College sports. I’m sorry to say but “the ESPN app” might actually be what’s working for me: it’s made it much easier to root for my team in my college sports-obsessed city. I wasn’t much of a fan during our all too recent scandal-ridden years here in Louisville, but after bringing in new coaches I was ready to be a fan again—but watching the games without a pricey tv package was a challenge. This year we got the new ESPN app and have tuned in to nearly every basketball and football game. We’ve also gotten to attend the occasional game, which has been a blast. I’ve enjoyed being a fan again.
Coffee adventures with Will. (Pictured up top) I wrote about this (with pics!) in one of those good old-fashioned newsletters I mentioned above, but the short version is this: when my husband and I realized just how many new coffee shops have opened in town these past few years that we haven’t yet visited, we made a list and got to work. I’ve enjoyed our low stakes project, especially how it’s gotten us out into unfamiliar neighborhoods.
Concerts. Live music was a source of much joy in 2025. Will and I went to several by ourselves, and then another with our teenagers when we were traveling for our daughter’s first college family weekend. Thanks to a cancellation for a much-anticipated concert in September 2025, Will and I already have a concert on the books for fall. It’s nice to have something to look forward to.
Good shows with the kids. How I love cozying up on the couch and watching something good together. With the kids, we’ve seen Severance, Silo, and most recently, The Pitt. (We’re so excited it’s coming back this week!) Will and I also enjoyed several shows on our own, especially The Diplomat and Shrinking. (We can’t wait for that to finally come back later this month.) Do you have recommendations for what we should watch next? I’d appreciate them!
I’d love to hear what worked for YOU in 2025, and what didn’t, and why. Tell us all about it in comments.
P.S. I’ll be sharing what DIDN’T work for me in 2025 in the newsletter this weekend. Click here to make sure you’re on the list.
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