Throughout June and July, I religiously sat down every night at 9pm and watched Love Island. This is the second year in a row that I have adopted this behavior and I know that I’m not the only one.

When July 29th arrived, I was thrilled to see Amber and Greg crowned the winners ☘️ However, I was equally thrilled to see the end of my 9pm gravitation to the couch. While I enjoyed the series to no end, I did sometimes feel that I was wasting many hours.

For the month of August, I decided to commit to a “Power Hour” every evening. Here’s what I got up to from 9-10pm each night.

1. Enjoyed a night out in Galway with my gal pals, pre-races.
2. Enjoyed another night out in Galway with my gal pals, post-races.
3. Walked along Seapoint and listen to The Real Health Podcast with Karl Henry interviewing Caroline Foran discussing anxiety.
4. Watched Love Island – The Reunion.
5. Travelled back to Dublin from Meath and prepped my lunch for work.
6. Published a new lemon cake recipe on the blog, for ready for bed and practiced a 7-minute bedtime yoga routine.
7. Did some laundry, including ironing, posted a bread recipe on Facebook and read an empowering essay exploring the lack of time that some women have to be creative and successfully.
8. Walked from Stephen’s Green to Connolly Station where I sat and had the chats with my boyfriend while we waited on our respective trains.
9. Watched The Bridges of Madison County.
10. Watched Bridesmaids.
11. Took the DART from the city centre to Monkstown and got myself prepped for work the following day.
12. Watched an episode of Black Mirror.
13. Prepped my overnight oats for tomorrow morning when I’ll be flying to Heathrow.
14. Scheduled my first newsletter!
15. Went to the Leopardstown Races with my workmates and saw All Saints live.
16. Explored the old town of Albufeira.
17. Enjoyed a delicious vegan meal and a glass of wine in our hotel in Albufeira.

1. Retreated to our hotel room early after a day in Vilamoura and watched a documentary about serial killers!

1. Experienced the most delicious meal in our hotel – Prawn & Lime Risotto followed by Carob Cake with Pistachio ice cream.

1. Wrote a review of the latest book that I had read – Little Fires Everywhere

1. Tackled my holiday laundry and changed my bed linen.
2. Watched an episode of Black Mirror.
3. Watched 27 Dresses.
4. Watched the Devil Wears Prada and enjoyed a glass of Rosé with my mammy.
5. Watched the first episode of the new season of Peaky Blinders.

1. Went for a walk at Seapoint and watched the second episode of the new season of Peaky Blinders.
2. Watched the first episode of the new season of the Great British Bake Off and did a 10 minute yoga flow inspired by @yogaru.
3. Gave my boyfriend a call to share the best news that I’d secured a promotion in work.
4. Watched Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (I’ve never watched the HP films!).
5. Went delivering an engagement present to my good friends @emmamcballmakeup.
6. Watched BGT The Champions.

In summary, I replaced my Love Island viewing with a variety of activities. I didn’t change the world but everything was enjoyable and that’s all that really matters, isn’t it?