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Final Thoughts on My Word for 2013: Intentional

Published on December 31, 2013 By Emily. Updated on January 2, 2014

intentional.jpg

At the beginning of this year, I opted to focus on one word instead of a list of tasks for my New Year’s Resolution.  My 2013 word was “intentional”.  I wrote about my thoughts and experiences a few times in the first half of the year:

Being Intentional (January 3rd)

Intentionality, Reader and Life Lately (March 20th)

Getting Things Done, Intentionally (June 20th)

In the more recent part of the year, which has involved more actually being intentional than writing about it, I’ve mainly been focused on the way in which I complete tasks.

As the school year began, I made some observations about the way in which I was getting work done.  After getting multiple comments from my students about the number of tabs open at any given time on my already taxed laptop, I began to think about why I think that having a dozen web pages ready to go at once causes me to get more done.   I immediately started trying to approach pages in the way that many experts suggest approaching mail or other paperwork: only touch things once.  When I open a browser tab, for work or at home, I try to immediately read it/use it/Pin it/tweet it/leave the comment and then close it. If I know I don’t have time to read or leave comments or whatever, I try to not open the email or Feedly or start planning a new classroom unit.  As a result, my computer is happier, I have less halfway done tasks staring me in the face and my kids harass me less (well, less about that particular issue).

I’ve also noticed that I feel more accomplished when I finish one or two things rather than making a little progress on several things.  I’m trying to restructure my productive time to be completely focused on one thing.  I don’t want to write half of three blog posts but still have nothing to post that evening.  It feels better to completely finish the weekly lesson plans for one of my classes than have all of them started.  I’m sure not everyone would agree, but actually reaching completion of a task motivates me to start something else more than feeling like I’m not really getting anywhere.

Of course, there are still many areas of intentionality that I still want to make serious progress on:

  • Making better use of my to do lists — but I’m still not feeling Asana, even after several months of use.  Has anyone else discovered a good online task management system that works on a browser and an Android device?
  • I need to leave time for non-school productivity.  If I want to be semi-serious about this blog (and I do), I need to make time to work on it.  I also need to make time to care for our home, interact with friends, cook, etc…
  • Relationships, in general.  I had really good plans for spending time with people through dinner parties, dates, phone calls and letters but really did poorly in this area.

Even though I didn’t consistently focus on intentionality as much as I intended, I’d still call 2013 a success.  I’ve gotten pretty serious about being intentional with my spending.  Brian and I began tracking all of our receipts this fall and it’s definitely helped us see where the money goes and plan  ahead for big things like the holidays, tuition and travel.  I baked all of my own sandwich bread in 2013 and I’ve begun considering the human cost (such as slavery) of some of the foods I enjoy.  My food purchasing is changing as a result.  We purchased our first home in April and 8 months in, I’m still loving home ownership.  Recently I’ve really started to get a vision for color and furniture that I’ll be looking to add in the coming months and years.  As part of the move we did a serious book purge and put the “rejects” up for sale on Amazon.  I sold 41 books between April and today.  Well worth the time.  The blog continues to change and improve and develop to more clearly reflect me and I think that’s going to be a continuous process.  This fall I also, finally, began feeling that I’m comfortable enough with the content I’m teaching and the general practice to really start honing my skills and improving what I’m doing.  I made good progress with intentionality in 2013 and I’m looking forward to putting those experiences to work in 2014.

I’m pretty sure I’ve settled on my 2014 word and it’s not a big change from this year.  More of a subtle shift in direction.  I’m looking forward to sharing it later this week.

Happy New Year!

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Filed Under: life Tagged With: goals, intentional

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Emily
It was a cold and cloudy morning, but we made it t It was a cold and cloudy morning, but we made it to our second annual strawberry picking at @mountainviewfarm413, which included E's first tractor ride (she was very excited). We picked about 9 pounds of strawberries and I'm looking forward to eating them! 🍓
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#NorthAdams #NAmazing
Scenes from this morning in Adams, featuring @shir Scenes from this morning in Adams, featuring @shiredonuts, Poseidon Coffee, the Ashwillticook Rail Trail, St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, Adams Free Library and beautiful flowers.
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#AdamsMA #igers413_food
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I don't have clear words to express my feelings ab I don't have clear words to express my feelings about the state of the world lately. As a teacher and a mother, it has been extra difficult this week to be fully present in my roles without thinking about innocent lives that should have had longer on Earth. How what has happened in each of the many mass shootings this year can happen anywhere. If you are feeling sad and frustrated too, you are not alone.

I don't have answers, but I'm trying to take care of myself and my biological and school families. I'm saying "I love you" a lot to my children and my students. I'm closely following and sharing the work of @everytown while contacting my state and federal representatives and the president. I'm going for walks and getting fresh air and trying not to overload on news. I'm sharing good resources in my stories as I see them.
UPDATE: the giveaway is now CLOSED. Congrats @aloh UPDATE: the giveaway is now CLOSED. Congrats @alohr3!

 @thelazygenius' second book, The Lazy Genius Kitchen, is finally here and I'm so excited! I don't purchase many books, but I pre-ordered this last July because I knew it would be right up my alley and then I pre-ordered a second copy because I knew that I'd want to give one away.

Author Kendra Adachi has been one of my favorite voices in recent years. Her principles (shared through her first book, The Lazy Genius Podcast and her Instagram) have helped me focus my priorities and give myself more grace. 

This book is NOT a cookbook (it has just 2 recipes), it is a kitchen guide - to help you "have what you need, use what you have, and enjoy it like never before". It is beautiful (full color!) and thoughtful.

I'm very excited to send this book to one of you.

TO ENTER: Leave a comment below with one of your greatest kitchen struggles. 
I'll draw a winner at 8 pm on Friday, May 6.
This giveaway is not affiliated with Instagram or The Lazy Genius, Kendra Adachi.
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#LazyGenius #KendraAdachi #NameWhatMatters #TheLazyGeniusKitchen #TheLazyGeniusWay #BookGiveaway
This morning we took advantage of @massmoca's Berk This morning we took advantage of @massmoca's Berkshire Teacher and Social Worker Appreciation Day free admission. After enjoying the student Art Invitational exhibit, the 4 of us took in several of the other galleries. Mass MoCA always impresses and it was delightful to be able to be out in the world with my kids.
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#igers413 #InTheBerkshires #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #NorthAdams #NAmazing #MassMoCA #ArtMuseum
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#igers413 #InTheBerkshires #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #BerkshireMuseum #PittsfieldMA
My January and early February menu plans for my @m My January and early February menu plans for my @mightyfoodfarm vegetables are finally up on the blog. See how we're making use of these beautiful items, as well as the items from the other pick up we made in the past month. 
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#MightyFoodFarm #EatLocal #EatSeasonal #VermontGrown #CSApickup #CSAshare  #KnowYourFarmerKnowYourFood #MenuPlanning #MealPlanning #igers413 #igers413_food #BerkshireFoodies
One of my favorite things to do is bake from scrat One of my favorite things to do is bake from scratch.
But, in the interest of full transparency, this pie was made with Pillsbury pie crusts and a $5 bag of Walmart Granny Smiths. I used the recipe on the pie crust box.
I am very excited to eat it.
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