Focus and Simplify: My Words and Goals for 2016

Do you have a “word for 2016”  A word?  Yes, a word!  A few years ago, I first learned about the word of the year concept.  I think of it as a one-word resolution.  Your word can be anything.  It can be a one-word goal you have for yourself, a feeling or emotion that you want to feel in the new year, an action you want to perform in the new year, and above all just anything that you want to have as a priority in your life for the year.  Today I’m going to talk a little bit about that.

As you can see, I’m cheating this year and am selecting 2 words….is that allowed? lol.

First, there’s Focus.  In 2015, I had a lot of “stuff” going on that left me very unfocused.  Actually I like to use the word “scattered.”

Although I did a lot of blogging and actually accomplished a lot in my house, I somehow felt like I didn’t accomplish a lot in 2015.  And I think the reason I felt scattered and lacked a sense of accomplishment was because every time I’d strike something off of my to-do list, 10 more items would be added, and because of this, my mind was going in a million different directions all the time!  Secondly, I did not make a list of goals for last year! I think it’s first time I didn’t make a list of goals….like ever!

So for those reasons, I’m going to do my best to narrow my focus in 2016.  Essentially for me this means defining my purpose and writing out my goals.  I think if you don’t have an exact goal that you’re working toward and a purpose-driven life, then you are just going to be lost in the woods or floating around like dust in the wind (whichever saying you prefer).

So here are the goals and things at which I will direct my focus:

1. Personal growth – This year I want to focus on personal development and positivity. In the past, I’ve let too many negative thoughts fill my brain, whether it’s something from the past or just something small that happened to bother me one day, and this year I want to let those things go and focus on what matters.  And I hope as I develop and grow, it can improve the way that I interact and deal with my family and others, and ultimately I think it will improve the way I blog!
2. Organization – When you’re not focused, you’re not organized, so this year I have to go back to the basics on everything from planning out my day, to scheduling my posts, managing our housekeeping, and organizing our business accounting.
3. Improving the Blog – Although I feel like I wrote some great content in 2015, I barely had time to visit other blogs and comment, and I know my blog suffered because of this, so I’m hoping in 2016 to get back to regular commenting and interaction and building my community.  And as always, I want to continuously improve my photography, writing, etc.
4. My Shop – Honestly my shop just wasn’t having a great year last year, and then I got this huge order out of the blue that “saved” me, and then we had the holiday season that helped us out as well, but the good news is that I was able to use a lot of the profits off of the big order I received and we got a new font for our hand stamped jewelry, as well as some other supplies, which I think are going to result in some excellent new products in 2016!
5. Videos – I’ve been saying for a long time that I’m going to do videos.  Youtube was always the goal, but now we have Periscope, so I’d love to do that.  Honestly I have an issue with nerves, but I know if I can just get past the first few videos, I would be good to go!
6. Home Improvement – We have a number of home improvement projects that we want to work on this year.  We are currently working on a craft workshop.  I also hope to do a bathroom makeover.  And then I have a small project I’d like to complete in our kitchen, but that will be contingent on the finances!

And my second word is “simplify.”  After seeing my list of goals, I’m sure it sounds crazy that my second word is “simplify.” Haha!  Well, I guess I need to simplify my life so that I can achieve all the goals that I want to focus on!

But seriously, simplifying everything is at the heart of basically all my goals!  As someone who majored in history and English, I’ve been trained in analytical thinking, and I naturally have a tendency to overthink things!  But I find that when I step back and think simply about things, I am able to come up with better solutions!

This has been the case recently when I’ve written my blog posts or my blog pitches.  When I rack my brain trying to come up with something elaborate, I get stuck.  But when I step back and just return to the basics and simple ideas, I’ve been coming up with great material!  The same has been true lately when I’ve tried to work on something at home.  I’ve been finding more and more that there is always an easier way of doing things, and there is always a way to simplify your process, no matter what you are doing!

SO…this year on my blog, I’m hoping to do some posts that revolve around “focus” and “simplify.”  You can expect to see a lot of simple solutions and posts that revolve around getting back to the basics of life and homemaking, and I hope you’ll join us for that!

Do you have a word or words for 2016?  If so, I’d love to hear what yours!  Tell me in the comments or leave a link to your Word for 2016 post!