Word of the Year: Simplify

Updated on March 26, 2024

2018 Word of the Year: Simplify. My word this year is Simplify. I want to live a life centered on the most important things. Plus, I am sharing tips on goal setting.

I no longer make New Year’s resolutions for the upcoming year on January 1st. I think resolutions can be vague, overreaching, and hard to achieve. Instead, each year, I set goals for myself.

What is the difference? A resolution is a firm decision to do or not to do something. A goal is the object of a person’s ambition or effort. The difference is deciding to do something vs. actively working towards what you want.

I don’t know about you, but my “resolutions” or mental resolve is often not strong enough to sustain me throughout the year. How often do you set resolutions that fall flat when you hit a bump in the road?

2018 Word of the Year Simplify

For the past several years, I have set goals and chosen one single word to guide me throughout the entire year.

Focus. Happy. Create. Do. Balance.

This year’s word is SIMPLIFY.

I want simplicity. Uncluttered. Space to breathe. Clarity. White space. Routine and structure.

Why Did I Choose Simplify?

I am so tired. Tired of running around like a crazy person trying to do everything and be everything for everyone. I know what is important in my heart, but I often choose the urgent over the important.

I am running myself ragged and know I can’t sustain this pace much longer without something coming undone. And already 2017 was a year of a lot of things coming undone.

I am tired of being so busy. Running from one thing to the next without having time to actually enjoy what I am doing or who I am with. It is exhausting, and I know I must find a way to get off this hamster wheel.

Simplifying = Peace

Simplifying every aspect of my life can only bring peace.

• I have big plans to declutter my whole house.
• I will practice the art of saying no to the things that are complicating my life and yes to my priorities and dreams.
• I will start taking care of myself.
• I will fiercely love myself like I do my kids and my husband.
• I will grow my business by being smart about my time.

Where do I want to be at the end of 2018? I love having a word of the year because it helps me to keep my “big picture” in mind.  But things don’t get done unless you have a plan, and this is where goals come in.

Look at the Big Picture

I start by looking at the big picture. Where do I want to be in six months, a year, or even five years from now? I write out those lofty dreams and big goals on paper. Sometimes, they can be scary or even seem unachievable.

I feel like this is where a lot of people stop.

These big dreams and goals are like resolutions. You can set your mind to grow your business, strengthen your marriage, or make time to give your undivided attention to your kids, but those feelings and wishes are not concrete.

How To Set Goals

You have to ask yourself HOW?

I set goals in six significant areas of my life:

1. Self
2. Health
3. Relationships
4. Finances
5. Home
6. Work

This is where goal setting comes in. I take each of these long-term goals and work backward.

Let’s take my health, for example. My big dream is to be strong and healthy. I want to have a lot of energy and feel good. I want to not worry about my weight but focus on how I feel.

RELATED: Other Words of the Year

How can I do all of these things?

• Drink lots of water (ideally 8+ cups per day)
• Eat lots of fruits and vegetables
• Get plenty of rest
• Exercise most days of the week with strength training in addition to cardio
• Only eat when I am truly hungry and do not eat my feelings
• Choose healthier options for snacks

I know what I need to do. If I only had a resolution, I should be able to do all these things, right? Well, honestly, no.

Thinking about what I need to do and actually doing it are completely different.

If I am being honest, I am starting in a place where I have neglected myself and my health over the past few years. I don’t exercise, I don’t eat very well, and I don’t often make time for myself.

Let’s say I am starting from ground zero. I know myself well enough to know I can’t make a bunch of huge changes right away, no matter how motivated I feel at the beginning of the year, the month, or the week. Starting slow and creating habits is where I need to start.

I am already doing pretty good about drinking water, but I do not quite do enough consistently.

Break it Down

Starting from the big goal, work backward. And once you have the big goal broken down, break down each of those steps even further.

For example, health is my big goal. One way to get there is to drink more water. Now, we can further break down the water goal for each month, week, or day of the year.

Here are my water goals:

• January – 6 cups per day
• February – 7 cups per day
• March – 8 cups per day
• Rest of the year – 8 cups or more per day of water, and drink all my water before I choose another kind of beverage (other than my morning coffee)

These are trackable goals. I can literally track how much water I drink each day. It isn’t a vague “drink more water” but actionable steps to get there.

And I can break them down even further. In January, I will drink 2 cups before 10:00 AM, 4 cups before 2:00 PM, and 6 cups by 6 PM. This way, throughout the day, I know where I need to be and what to do to get there if I am not.

You can add specific, small tasks to your daily to-do lists to make progress. Little, consistent progress is often more effective than big, sweeping changes to your life.

How to Track Goals

I do this for all of my goals. Start with the end in mind, and then work backward. I use my printable habit tracker to track each month’s little goals I am working on.

I re-evaluate what is working and what is not at the beginning of each month. If I didn’t do so great on something I think I would have nailed, I will work on it a little longer until I feel like I can move on to the next thing.

At the end of the year, you can view your progress by looking back at your big goals and see how much you accomplished!

Tell me in the comments, what is your word for the year? What goals have you set for yourself? We will also discuss this more in my new Creative Community on Facebook.

My word of the year is simplify – what’s yours? Happy New Year!

Powersheets Goal Setting

Want to learn more about goal setting? Do you feel overwhelmed by setting goals and tracking them? I suggest using the Cultivate What Matters Powersheets. It is a proven system for discovering and tracking your goals throughout the year. I use one most years, and I notice a difference in how successful I am with my goals when I use it compared to if I don’t.

You may also like:

• 2013: Focus
• 2014: Happy
• 2015: Create
• 2016: Do
• 2017: Balance
• 2018: Simplify
• 2019: Change
• 2020: Finish
• 2022: Less