Hi friend! Elizabeth from the @thejoyfulsojourn on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok here to give us all a boost of enthusiasm for the new year that awaits us!

Today I'm taking you through my process for establishing a word of the year, instead of a list of new year resolutions, to help me connect with healthy habits, goals, and hopes throughout the new year.

Supplies

Discount code "JOYFUL10" will save you 10% at checkout at Archer & Olive!

• Notepad - I love these! I use them for decorating and for braindumping
• Planner or Bullet Journal - I used the B5 Storybook Dated Planner, but a bullet journal works as well!
• Pens - I used the Calliograph Attic Treasure Pens
• Stamps

Thinking about a new year, and why 'one little word':

With 2025 just around the corner, you may be reflecting on all the things that you did (or didn’t) accomplish this year. Let me be the first to tell you that – no matter how wonderful or crummy 2024 was for you – I am so glad you’re here in this moment, reading this post. And I am looking forward to starting the new year with an expectant hope for our future…will you join me?

New Years resolutions are a double-edged sword. They can be both motivating AND guilt or shame-inducing. So imagine my delight joining the online planner community during the pandemic, and learning about “one little word”. This concept, coined by Ali Edwards, changed the way I thought about resolutions.

I’ve modified the concept to meet my needs, and today I’m going to share my process! If you’d like to hear me share in real time, make sure you check out my YouTube video on the Archer & Olive channel.

Step One

Take some time to reflect on your current year.

This can be done in list-format or journaling. Whatever the case, separate your responses by highs and lows, and be thorough! Just brain dump it all out:

• The Things that worked (highs): the things you loved/appreciated about this year. Moments, places, people who made you feel joyful, hopeful, empowered, safe, creative. Strategies that you employed that ‘worked’ in managing your life. Essentially capturing what you’d want to do again or want more of in the new year.

• The Things that didn’t work (lows): the obstacles you faced and what their resolution was. Things that made your life harder or more challenging. The circumstances, people, etc, when you felt emotions like anger, hurt, frustrated, disillusioned, etc.

Highlight common themes and words that jump out across the lists. Here you can see a small example of my summary of 2024 (bonus – you can recycle this content into a decorative memory keeping spread in your journal).

Step two

Take your extractions from 2024 and write down actionable items for 2025.

Essentially - whatever areas, people, etc., that were 'highs' in 2024, you want to be intentional about pursuing in the new year. Conversely, whatever 'lows' you had in 2024, you'll want to modify behaviors and intentionally pursue the opposite.

This is usually where people create their list of “new years resolutions” and call it a day. But we’re going to keep going…

Step Three

Coming up with a word.

Look over your actionable items - does a word come to mind when you see your hopes for a better life in 2025? If not a word, does a song come to mind? A scripture verse? A movie quote? If so, then that’s YOUR (fill in the blank)!

Instead of listing out all the things you’re resolved to do in 2025, have that one word be the north-star whereby you test a decision you need to make, how you spend your time, with whom you spend your time, etc. Having one word or phrase, rather than a list of to-do’s, is a softer place to land when it comes to changing habits.

If a word doesn’t come to mind, I’ve provided a printable of this guide, along with words that may align with your goals and hopes for 2025!

An Example

A high for me in 2024 was getting a gym membership and feeling proud of myself whenever I went.

On the flip side, a low was not prioritizing going regularly and not keeping to the routine I established when I first started. Since having my daughter, I've really struggled with energy and keeping up with her, and my self-esteem has been super low. I need to prioritize my physical health, and to lose weight so I can be a more active mom and wear the clothes I want to!

Thinking through my WHY is the biggest motivator for behavior modification, and then small, easy, actionable steps help me navigate the journey. 

Instead of facing a list resolutions in my planner that say things like "lose weight", I've found it to be more helpful to just have one word the sums it all up, and focusing my mind on a word that I test my opportunities and decisions against.

Step Four

Create a decorative page at the front of your planner or journal with the word on it, so you can reminded of your mindset when you had clarity before the new year began.

This can be as decorative or simple as you want.

I chose Calliograph Pens and Stamps, and placed the word at the front of my 2025 dated planner. I also added areas of my life where I want to see my word lived out.

Going back to the example above, and my word "Commit" for 2025.

I want to be "committed" to my physical health. I want to be "committed" to going to the gym 3 times a week (the actionable item). So how do I apply the word? I test every opportunity or decision against that word. "I don't want to go to the gym, should I this morning?" Yes, because my word of the year is "commit" and I want to be all-in on my heath journey.

Essentially, how does the decision in front of me align with the word I've chosen for the year? 

You can hear my thoughts on one little word, and see this spread come together, at the archer and olive Youtube channel, video linked below!

Be sure to follow me over at @thejoyfulsojourn on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok, and if you decide to create a one little word page, be sure to tag me and archer & olive using: @archerandolive @thejoyfulsojourn #archerandolive.community #AOShare #archerandolive

For more inspiration on new year resolution and little word setups, check out these additional posts: New Year Resolutions and One Little Word