Each year I choose a yearly theme and if you’ve never, I suggest you try it out.

What type of Theme?

You can choose something you’re into this year or something you want to get better at.

Your yearly theme can be a word or a color or a sentence. A punchline or a system, like “90 Day Year” “12 Week Year”, or “try, try again”.

It could be “Yellow” or “More music”— which could mean listening to music or making music.

A Yearly Theme helps you have a broad background focus without having to plan every detail out.

For me, planning out details is the fastest way not to do something.

I prefer to follow my curiosity.

Either type of person, I plan-follower or a curiosity-follower can benefit from a Yearly Theme.

In writing, this is called. being a plotter vs being a pantser and it’s well known within the field that both types exist and thrive.

If you’re the type of person who thrives off living by the seat of her pants, then going through the grueling details of plotting out an entire book will kill your curiosity.

And as the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought it back.

What can you do this coming year that will help you find satisfaction?

Choose a Role For Your Yearly Theme

Writer

Alcohol-Free

Student

Social Butterfly

Traveler

Entrepreneur

Some people will find it easier to attach to an identity than to follow a series of rules.

Choose a Direction for Your Yearly Theme

Debt Pay Off

DeCluttering

Strength Training

Moving West

Jokes

Trying Something New Every Month

Maybe you’re doing improv, standup, or just trying to make your thriends and your coworkers laugh a lot this year. Your yearly theme can be anything you’d like, you could intend to just be joking.

Choose a Word for your Yearly Theme

Some examples of words you could use for a yearly theme with different vibes:

• Diction
• Less
• Abundance
• Understanding
• Strength
• Pause
• Fire

Choosing a yearly theme is something very personal. Even if you have other heartbeats in your space every day, you don’t have to ask them if you don’t want to discuss this part. You don’t need permission from your spouse or your kids or your partner to implement a theme for the year, you can just choose one.

If you’re interested in having more than one theme for the year, you can! No problem. Want four? Check out the concept behind a 90-Day Year or a 12 12-week year and pick a theme for each.

Seasons go by faster than a year if you want to break down your time into smaller chunks.

One year, my theme was a word, and that word was “Ta-da” and I just would say it to myself after accomplishing something.

**Does ALLLLL the dishes**

Me to myself: “Ta-da!”

**Does ALLLLL the laundry**

Me to myself: “Ta-da!”

What’s your theme? Your direction? Your color, phrase, identity, or word of the year?

Mine is looking like it’s gonna be a no-spend year, or at least I’ll be keeping my 50 frugal living tips in mind.