My Word of the Year for 2019

When I chose hygge as my word of the year for 2018, I basically told myself that I had to spend some time each day devoting myself to coziness. I’m proud to say that I followed that direction really well. At several points over the past year, I found myself thinking that I had a responsibility to create a hyggeligt moment. Usually, that involved a beverage of some sort and a comfortable place to sit. Often, it involved making the decision not to look at email or social media. I even went so far as to create a no-tech zone in my house when Mike and I repainted and refreshed our sun room last summer, just to make sure there’s a hygge-friendly space in our house.

As I started thinking about my next Word of the Year, I wanted to build on those healthy hygge habits. I wanted to encourage myself to keep being intentional about putting down the phone–perhaps for slightly longer periods of time. I also wanted to cultivate the habit of single-tasking. That’s a skill I seem to have lost over my years as a parent. (I’m sure the invention of the Internet and smart phones played a role in its demise, too.)

Which brings us to my Word of the Year for 2019: Focus.

I’ve been concerned about my shortening attention span for some time. I get excited about reading a new book–then discover I don’t have the patience to read for long. Mike and I used to go to movies weekly–now, sitting in a theater for two hours sounds like torture. (When we do watch movies, it usually happens at home, where we can pause the video or leave the room at will.) I find it almost impossible to do just one thing. I’m always watching a movie and crocheting. Or making dinner and listening to the news. Even the Saturday morning coffee ritual that Mike and I had cultivated–the time when we’d catch up with each other after a hectic work week–has been interrupted by our phones.

Multitasking feels more productive, but the reality is that it increases the amount of time required by each task. If you feel like you never getting anything done, multitasking may be the culprit. It’s a very elaborate form of laziness.

Single-tasking isn’t the only strategy I have in mind for developing better focus, though. Being intentional is another part of my plan. How many times do you find yourself doing something just because that’s what you’ve always done? When Mike and I go out for dinner, I sometimes don’t even look at the menu–I just order what I know I’ll like, what I’ve always ordered in the past. That’s not an intentional decision; it’s just the easiest thing to do.

Trying something new always requires more attention. When I’m learning a new skill, for instance, I’m totally focused on learning the sequence and series of movements I need to master.  I do this every time I try to teach myself a new crochet stitch–watching videos until I get it right, then practicing until I can see what the results should look like.

If I’m taking a new route to work, I generally don’t find myself slipping into autopilot. That happens only when I take the same route day after day–in spite of the fact that I know of at least five different ways to get from home to campus. Autopilot is entirely avoidable.

Why don’t I vary my route once in a while, see something new? There’s no good answer to that question. Lack of time is a common excuse, but the truth is that all the routes between my house and workplace cover roughly the same distance. There’s maybe a five-minute difference among them, assuming similar traffic conditions. And it’s not as if I’m doing something really productive with the ten minutes I save by taking the same route every day.

So my goal for 2019 is to do one thing at a time–and to focus on what I’m doing. That doesn’t necessarily mean more schedules and less flexibility, but it does mean making more conscious decisions.

What’s your word for 2019? How do you plan to keep it in focus?