I was on a run the other day with coach John on Aaptiv when he started talking about purpose. As he asked me if I was running with purpose, I thought it would make an excellent 2019 Word of the Year.
2017 – Intentional
2018 – Vulnerable
2019 – Purpose
This year I will be splitting my time between the following, in this order of priority.
- Caring for a baby
- Playing with a kindergartener
- Running a household (putting this in because laundry, food prep, packing lunches, and emptying the dishwasher are always time sucks!)
- Working on all things Kath Eats Real Food
- Self care (workouts, me time)
Of course there are more categories of life, but these are the big ones.
As I emerge from my self-proclaimed “maternity leave,” I know I need to get a good time management schedule underway. I am still not sure if this will involve child care or not. I want to do it all, but I know a little help goes a tremendously long way. I have started planning out my days in TeuxDeux including details like when I’m going to shower, the day’s planned workout, blog posts and appointments, and our dinner plans.
Needless to say, I am trying to be very purposeful with my life this year.
This is kind of a flashback to 2017’s word – intentional. In fact, I used the word purpose a few times in my descriptions in that post. Intentionality is a theme I will always come back to. It’s a way of decluttering the mind and focusing in on the things that matter most.
Family
I’ve talked on the blog before about block scheduling my days to simplify work-life balance and be “on” as mom when Mazen is home. I am thinking if I do hire a babysitter a few mornings a week this will allow me to get all of my work done in the first half of the day so I can devote the second half to parenting and housekeeping. (Self care TBD!) Having Thomas home on the weekends makes it tempting for me to hide away and do a little writing, but we have a pretty firm rule that weekends are for family time. I remember when Mazen was born I did a lot of blogging in the evenings, which was a bit draining at the end of the day, and I’d like to figure out the best way to contain work to normal workday hours and reserve evenings and weekends for Thomas, Mazen, and Birch. (And Gus!)
Work
Piggybacking on the above, if my work days are to be compressed a bit, I have to be focused during those hours. Rather than spinning wheels making to-do lists or dillydallying in YNAB (my favorite way to procrastinate), I need to hit the ground running when work time begins. I can do unlimited amounts of planning and list making in my head or notepad on my phone when I’m not near the computer and when work time begins, I need to DO. Whether that means having the right ingredients for a recipe already in my fridge or a blog post outline ready, work hours = create. As far as blog content goes, I’m channeling this post On Being Real. I’d love to combinate a mix of real life healthy living posts mixed in with some recipes and topics as needed. Maybe a 2:1 ratio. Matt Allen, an MBA business consultant, asked me what my business goals were for 2019 and I realized how important is really is to write them down and have a plan. So that’s something to be intentional about too!
Self Care
Eating well and working out are both super important to my self care routine. I need a little exercise nearly every day to feel my best. Stress leaves my body through beads of sweat. And we all know that eating well makes you feel great. What I have realized lately is that my mental health is equally happy with a 20 minute workout to a 60 minute one. So if all I have time for is 15 minutes of walking in the basement in my regular clothes, that is all I need. The treadmill and Aaptiv have been life changing for squeezing in mini workouts. I’m also planning evening exercise twice a week – one strength class and indoor soccer – and that way I can count on two really good workouts a week if the rest of my week has short, efficient ones.
Having a small baby makes mindful eating especially challenging since I tend to shovel down food not knowing how long I have to eat or am so busy caring for the baby that I forget to eat and am starving past mealtime. Like most things in life, having a plan can help with that, so scheduling foods for breakfast, lunches, and snacks in addition to dinners in advance can help keep the day balanced, blood sugar stable, and my body fueled with nourishing options.
Those are the big categories. The little ones – home, money, entertaining, friendships, etc. – all matter too, but like sand between stones, they fill in where needed.
What will you be focusing on in 2019?
Amy G. says
I love the idea of setting a word or phrase for the year! Mine is INITIATIVE, and I write about it on my blog here:http://notafraidofstripes.blogspot.com/2018/12/2019-word-of-year-initiative.html. I realized that in order to get to where I want to go, I am the one who can really make it happen if I take action, whether it is making a plan or simply asking for what I want or need.
It’s fun to read about others’ plans and hopes for the coming year. Thanks for sharing yours!
KathEats says
I love that one!!
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog says
I love this year’s word! I keep forgetting about this idea… time to think of one for 2019! 🙂
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
Kimberly Marcus says
I love selecting a word to focus on during the year, but this year I’m changing it up a bit a focusing on a few sayings I heard recently in a movie
Good Thoughts
Good Deeds
Good Words
2019 I will be focusing on making these a daily habit – whenever I stray in the other direction (which we all know can happen) I will remind myself of my daily habit and focus on these three sayings. This goes for myself also, not only when I’m interacting with others.
Happy New Year – Let’s make 2019 the best one possible for all, by doing what we can each day.
KathEats says
I love that!! Great choices too.
Denise says
Kimberly that was one of my favorite parts of the movie! <3
Monica says
My word is “grace”. I am an intensive care nurse and go-getter, usually my New Years intentions are long and detailed, but this year as a new mama to a 4 week old, I’m setting it aside and giving myself loads of grace and instead making intentions to enjoy every moment of this first year. Happy New Year!!
KathEats says
I love that and think that all new moms need to embrace the word grace <3
Ashley says
Thomas wasn’t on your priority list. No judgement, just an observation.
KathEats says
I shouldn’t give this the time to defend myself BUT, we share the tasks in the priority list (baby care, playing with Mazen, household) so the idea is that we are doing them side-by-side. And Family was the first bullet I elaborated on “reserve evenings and weekends for Thomas, Mazen, and Birch. (And Gus!)”
A fellow wife and mommy says
(Meekly and gently adding this FWIW…) I think she may have meant not forgetting the spouse? Husband and wife time together is so important for the married relationship and overflows into the families relationship. Just wondering if that’s what she may have intended? Just an observation as well, no judgement, as we are all in this life together
Tiffany says
I was about to add this, Katherine…I only notice because quality time with my spouse is on my own list.
KathEats says
Guys that’s a given. We spend every evening together. Please stop trying to find trouble in paradise!
Laura B. says
I decided my word of the year is “gratitude.”
I’ve become a bit of a pessimist over the last year and my therapist has challenged me to become more present and aware of how I’m feeling. I’m hoping that practicing more gratitude will allow me to do that.
KathEats says
Love it. We could all use a focus on gratitude.
Kelsey says
I LOVE this word, because it’s actually my word of the year, too! I used Powersheets (https://cultivatewhatmatters.com/) to uncover my word, and this theme kept coming back up. Not only to use my time purposefully, but to understand that in every season of life, there is a purpose for where I am in my journey.
Excited to see how this theme plays out for you AND me! 🙂
Katie says
I also love the word Grace for this year (and I also love reading others’ choices).
Kath, thank you for the Aaptiv recommendation. After you first mentioned it a couple of weeks ago, I decided to give it a try. It has been a year of life changes for me and I have been struggling to find a new workout routine. I love it so far, for several reasons. Even though I am running (or doing burpees or squats or push-ups) alone, I feel encouraged and coached. Thank you!
KathEats says
Yay! I am still loving it too!
Sarah K says
Great word, Kath. I hope you find your purpose in 2019! Thank you for being an inspiration to all Moms!
KathEats says
Thank you
Shannon says
oh yay, I’m glad you are keeping up your word of the year trend! I love having a word to tie the other goals together because it feels so much more achievable, motivating and memorable versus a big list. My word is going to be fearless. I want to spend less time worrying and doubting, and more time believing and going after things. Thanks for sharing your goals!
KathEats says
That’s a great one!
Louise RD says
Love all your words, very inspirational! I’ve been thinking about the apptiv app, my only hesitation is not knowing what kind of music will get played. Is there a choice on this? I’m very particular on the genre that is able to get me pumped up & moving – lol!
KathEats says
Yup! You can filter the workouts by music type. Most of them are pop and hip hop, but I did a country one that was actually pretty good!
Louise RD says
Ok, will give it a go—> thanks a bunch!!
SM says
Kath, I love your blog! I think the goals you have for 2019 are ++awesome++. One you might want to think about specifying is a marriage category. As a mom of older kids, married more than 20 years, it’s something I still have to purposely pursue. With the extra challenging kid seasons you’re in it’s even more important to make spouse time a priority. I think “family” is a great category, but making goals for time away alone as a couple, regular date nights, and books on marriage are great things to consider. I pray my idea doesn’t feel like I’m suggesting you add more to your already busy life and season. Your family is amazing and I know you already make your marriage A HUGE priority, so it’s more of a suggestion to just clarify and quantify your plans so they don’t skip through the cracks. You’re awesome! Thanks for being a bright spot in the WWW!
Anna says
My word is consistent/consistency. Trying not to worry about making huge leaps on any of my goals…just being consistent about working towards them!
KathEats says
That’s the best way to meet them!
The Many Thoughts of a Reader says
I am taking a continuing ed class right now and learned about wunderlist. It’s a nice way to break down what you need to do for various parts of your life. You can make it broad and pare it down on a weekly/daily basis and it’s right there at your finger tips to see what you need to do right away. That may help with focusing!