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A Small Change Can Make a Big Difference to Your Year


The new year can be a meaningful time to implement a momentous change. But not everything needs to be a total overhaul—small, simple changes can have surprisingly powerful effects.

Writer Helen Rosner asked her Twitter followers for the small things they’ve done this year that have dramatically improved their lives:

Rosner’s own upgrade was keeping a phone charger in the bathroom. (One of mine is the long-cord charger I now keep next to the couch.)

Lots of answers fell into a similar category: making a permanent change to solve a problem you routinely have. Always looking for your chapstick? Buy ten of them and put one in every coat pocket and desk drawer. Do your glasses tend to break? Put a tiny screwdriver on your keychain. Phone battery dying all the time? Keep a charger in your bag.

The whole thread of replies is inspiring—I should probably put a phone charger in my bathroom, so that I stop having to bring in the one from my bedside table, which I inevitably then leave in the bathroom leaving me with no charger in bed—but so is the philosophy. You can find more inspiration in our Weekly Upgrade posts, too. Small changes, some that cost just a few dollars and plenty more that are free, can help you take care of yourself in a way that ends up adding a sense of ease and luxury to your life.