I should learn this language. That new coffee place looks great, I want to go there sometime. I would love to go on a trip to this place. That sounds like a fun race to run. I need to create a better process for this. That would be a great marketing campaign to start at Purple Ink.

That’s what it sounds like in my brain (exhausting, right?). Unfortunately, I usually come up with an excuse not to do any of those things. I don’t have time for those new marketing campaigns because I’m busy maintaining the ones we’re already running. The weekend rolls around, but I don’t go out to the new coffee place because I’m tired and I just feel like staying home and binge-watching Netflix. This year, I plan to make a conscious effort to actually follow through with some of these ideas (I’m definitely still going to be binge-watching Netflix sometimes, though). That’s why my word for 2019 is do.

I had been debating over which word to choose, wavering between do, which was my original idea, and several other ideas that came up as I tried to decide. Then I read Gretchen Rubin’s book about making and breaking habits, Better Than Before, and it solidified for me that do was the right choice. Rubin believes everyone falls under one of four tendencies, based on how they react to internal and external expectations. According to her framework, I’m an Obliger, meaning I typically have no problem meeting external expectations, like things my coworkers ask of me at Purple Ink, but I often struggle with meeting my own internal expectations without some kind of accountability. Rubin also mentioned needing to allocate time for doing things she wants to do that may not be urgent (like my list above), because she’s never going to run out of other important things to do. That resonated with me; if you wait until the perfect moment, you’re never going to do it!

So what does all this mean for Purple Ink? It means I’m going to work on creating the structures and processes I’ve been thinking about creating, but that keep falling by the wayside as I maintain my current responsibilities and keep up with my external expectations. I’ll make the time to keep up-to-date with the marketing industry and develop my skills instead of thinking I’m too busy to watch a webinar or read an article. When I think of something new that would make Purple Ink’s marketing better, I won’t let it linger on my to-do list for months waiting for one slower work day. And most importantly, I’ll do whatever I can to keep you and the rest of our clients, friends, and readers better informed about our variety of amazing HR services.

I mentioned that I often need some form of accountability to achieve goals for myself, so choosing do as my word of the year and sharing it with you and my coworkers is going to be my motivation to stick to it! What’s your word of the year, and how are you planning on keeping it top of mind?

Is there something you’ve always wanted to do in your HR department, but haven’t gotten around to it? Reach out to my teammates at Purple Ink; they’d be happy to help you cross that item off your list!

Click here for more on Purple Ink’s 2019 words of the year.