Intentional.

When did the "word of the year" thing start? Sometime in the last decade, I think. And over howevermany years that was, I'm sure thousands of people have already used the word Intentional as their word of the year. I would love to know how that went for them.

Because here I am, years late to the game, finally choosing it.

What were my words in the past? I'm honestly asking - I don't remember. Ha. They must have been good. (snort)

Okay, actually, after quickly looking back in my blog archives I see that two years ago my word was Up, and that's actually pretty darn good. It was about up-leveling and looking up at the beauty of the sky - I used the hashtag #lookup anytime I noticed a pretty skyscape or tree. It's just, I don't think I brought it through the whole year with me. And I definitely didn't use it like a mantra the way I should have. I wanted it to have a Michelle Obama, "When they go low, we go high" vibe.

I clearly failed at all the others, also, because I can't even recall them. I think this year's has some staying power, though.


As 2019 came to a close, the theme of intentionality kept coming up for me. I wanted to just sit and ruminate over the idea in my journal, and it was the topic of many-a-conversation between friends and Matt and all of the other suckers who will willingly sit and listen to the outpouring of my brain. (You guys are saints. SAINTS!)

It seemed to be the element that was lacking in all of my endeavors and efforts.

Where was my purpose?

I'd found it in some things, but in other things - mostly the mundane life things - it was no where to be found. Which is a bit sad, considering that is the meat of our lives. The projects and plans and jobs are the things we do when the life stuff is taken care of. The meals, the clothing, the bathing, the housework, the errands, the chauffeuring, the caring, the cleaning, the maintenance. We do those things to make the projects possible. But why do we (or, to be fair, I) look at them as annoying obstacles or exhausting responsibilities when they are the foundation to everything else we (I) do?

And what would life look like if I gave both the life "things" and the projects the same due diligence?

I said to my friend one day, "I wonder what my house would look like if I did nothing but focus on it for a week. From school drop off til my bedtime, if I efforted on nothing but cleaning and organizing for just ONE week, would my house finally have its shit together once and for all?"

It's an intriguing thought, because the daily "do what's absolutely necessary to get by and nothing more so I have time for all the other things, only to watch it be undone by all the other living beings I live with so I have to re-do it again tomorrow" routine is SOUL SUCKING. And if I just did everything I possibly could to streamline, minimalize, organize, scrub and dust and polish over the course of a week - would that back and forth dance of the vacuum lines being trampled and the empty sink being filled feel more manageable? And would it feel worth it if after that week I could set that effort down and move onto something else pressing or worthwhile?

Total energy flow vibes. It feels like stirring up the chi from week to week, using it to work for me and my life to actually get somewhere good & juicy.

And so my week-to-week idea was born.
I'm gonna intentionally live the hell out of 2020, 7 days at a time.

Okay SO, rules.

(These are for myself, and mostly arbitrary because I am a rebel and break even my own rules but this is January and those are the vibes so roll with me for a minute.)

1. Set a theme for each week to be completely intentional about from Sunday-Saturday.
2. Sunday is prep and plan day. I'll create a simple tracker and list of things to do that will allow me to live intentionally about that week's theme.
3. Set intentional reminders on my phone. If there's something that needs to remain on my mind, I'll make sure my phone is telling me to keep it there so I don't get distracted by shiny objects.
4. Take a week off every 3-6 weeks. This sounds counter-productive, but it's so that I don't burn myself out and to kindly allow myself space to breathe, focus on new habits, and review all that came before it. What would be the point if there was no space to feel the effects of my efforts?
5. Refer back to my 20 for 2020 list every 1st and 15th of the month to make sure I'm squeezing my over-reaching goals into my weekly efforts. This should be an easily triggered activity because we also get paid on those dates.

I'll be documenting it all here and there. (Here being this blog and there being my Instagram.) I don't want to set any rules around that, though, because I like to share when it feels vibrationally appropriate because I'm annoyingly spiritual like that.

So I know you're wondering, what's your theme this week?

Week one started on December 29th, because starting on a Sunday felt better to me than waiting for January 1st, and I chose to focus on keeping a morning routine. I really wanted to start with focusing on an evening routine, because I always find that working backwards sets the present up for success, but I had 2 very late nights right off the bat (one of them being NYE) and I knew I wouldn't be able to follow through.

SO I decided to work with my morning flow instead, and it was absolutely the right decision. It's been a vibe. And I'm so glad that I've been able to concentrate on it while we are all at home together on vacation without somewhere pressing to be in the morning hours. I've been able to really dig in and root into the process so that I can connect with it in a way that will keep it going beyond this first week of effort. I'll share more about it (including what my actual routine is) when I wrap up this first theme over the weekend.

If you're wondering why I went with a week for each of my intentions, it's because my interest attention span only lasts about that long. I'm a passion hummingbird, and all of my previous attempts to land and settle on one thing (or pretty flower) have failed because I haven't taken that into consideration. I love Gretchen Rubin's monthly themes in The Happiness Project, and I admire everyone that is able to stick to ONE thing for 52 weeks straight. I am just not that gal. I get bored. And not because I'm not willing to be mindful, but because I am rabidly curious about this life and I want to touch every inch of it. I don't want to settle into one little corner when there are so many others to explore! So with each new week, I'll set down an intention and pick up a new one. It's like buying new clothes and wearing them for the first time - exciting and fresh!

This little baby blog of mine doesn't have much of a following, but if you're around I'd love to hear your word of the year (or if Intentional has ever been yours and how it went). I wanna do this year on purpose. Hearing others' accounts of goal setting and maybe even success is some damn good energy to swim in when you're gearing up for a year of focused effort. Even if you have to take baby bites because you wanna hit every part of the buffet!

RECAPS

Week 1 - Morning Routine
Week 2 - Evening Routine
Week 3 - Luke
Week 4 - Wake Up at 5:30
Week 5 - Kids' Habits
Week 6 -