What if I told you the secret to a more intentional month could fit on a sticky note? Just one word. During your next Personal Retreat Day, I encourage you to choose one word to guide the month ahead. The key is asking yourself, “what do I need the most this month?” and choosing a word that resonates with that sentiment.

I’ll give you two examples. My word for June was invite.  I chose this word for two reasons. As I was doing my Health Assessment Grid I recognized that there were several relationships I wanted to invest in by asking people over for dinner or out for coffee. This was a literal interpretation of the word “invite!” I also wanted to work on manifesting certain qualities into my life: patience, joy, gratitude…there were too many to boil down to just one quality, so instead I chose the word invite. That way, I could start each day meditating on the word “invite” and decide exactly what quality I wanted to focus on that day. That’s an example of how a single overarching word can guide each day a little bit differently.

The second example is my word for July. During my PRD I listened to a morning meditation on my Peloton app which focused on bringing shape to the day ahead. This word really captures the essence of what I hope to achieve in July. In my PRD I wrestled with ideas of how to bring new structure to my work and personal life. I’m not in a season where I’m creating anything new from scratch, I’m just wanting to bring shape to what already exists. Think of it like a potter shaping a lump of clay. The clay already exists, but a potter can shape it into a vase or a bowl or a mug. There’s magic when you’re able to find a word that can capture the essence of what you want your month to look like. Choose a word with broad strokes, not something that will box you in. What’s really cool is when you look back at the end of the month to see how this word manifested itself. Maybe it showed up in unexpected ways or you noticed it pop up in different contexts.

There’s magic when you’re able to find a word that can capture the essence of what you want your month to look like. Choose a word with broad strokes, not something that will box you in. What’s really cool is when you look back at the end of the month to see how this word manifested itself. Maybe it showed up in unexpected ways or you noticed it pop up in different contexts.

So, here’s your sticky note moment: pick one word, write it down, and let it guide you all month long. You might be surprised by just how far one little word can take you.

When you’ve chosen your word for the month, I’d love to hear about it!