Welcome to One Little Word 2013. If you’re new to the idea of One Little Word, it’s super simple. All you do is select one word to keep in mind throughout the year. Last year I chose the word connect and I’ll admit, it manifested itself in a much different, but still good, way they I thought that it would when I chose it last year.

This year, I had my word picked out several months before the end of the year. That word was time. I was so sure about it that I even created a layout for it at the beginning of December as part of the Sweet Shoppe January Portfolio Challenge:

But when January 1st finally rolled around, something about the word time didn’t feel right. It wasn’t that was a bad or irrelevant word, it just didn’t feel bold enough or actionable enough. It didn’t feel like it encompassed all I wanted to focus on this year. It was a fine enough word, it just didn’t feel like my word anymore.

Later that night, Adam and I were talking and I mentioned how I was nervous about the start of the year because I had a lot I’d like to accomplish and I didn’t know if was really possible.

And he turned to me and said,

“You have the skills, you just need the determination.”

And something about the word determination clicked. It felt right.

But I wanted to be sure. So I did what any tech-lovin’ gal would do: I googled it.

And after looking at the definition and synonyms like these…

Perseverance, boldness, bravery, constancy, conviction, dedication, drive, heart, purpose, willpower

…I knew this was the word I needed for this year. Because it encompassed everything I had really wanted to get from the word time but in a way that’s much more powerful and really at the core of what I was looking for.

My 2013 One Little Word: Determination

So determination is officially my one little word for 2013. I even made a new layout for it – hey, why not use what you’ve got – that’s the beauty of digital, right?

January 2013 Goal-Setting

One thing I’ve known for months was that I wanted to combine my One Little Word this year into my goals for the year. If you follow Elise’s blog, you’ll know she did something similar for her word “choose” last year. And in her  Big Picture I Choose class (which I highly recommend by the way!), she talks quite a bit about the importance of not only setting monthly goals but of also capturing them in a creative way.

So I knew I wanted to do something similar to what she did but with my own spin on it. Something I could share here on the blog but also print out as a reminder of what I want to focus on that month. And I knew it to had to be simple enough to put together every month or else I wouldn’t do it.

I came up with the idea to make a 6×6-inch goal-setting inspiration card to go with my monthly goals each month. My plan is to set 4 goals each month encompassing a good balance of life areas (something else Elise talks about in her class. You don’t want all your goals to be say, work-related since you’re likely to get burnt that way).

This is what I came up with, themed around the phrase “This Month I’m Determined To:” in reference to my 2013 OLW Determination:

And here’s what it looks like printed and hanging up on my white board all pretty like:

Fun, right? I just printed it out here at home on Epson Premium Presentation Matte paper and trimmed it out with my paper trimmer. I like that it’s clean and simple but still a little scrappy. Very me, haha.

Well that’s it for this January installment of One Little Word Goal-Setting! If you’re interested in making your own OLW layout or Monthly Goal inspiration cards, have no fear – both products will be hitting the Sweet Shoppe on Saturday. Just consider this an extra early sneak peek for all you lovely blog readers.

How about you – did you choose a One Little Word for this year? Did you set any monthly goals? Are you doing anything fun to document them? I love to chat so feel free to share what you’re up to in the comments below.

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