Rethinking Life... and the Blog

I love January because it really is a time when I think a lot about my life and the direction I want to go in the coming year.

Perhaps that is obvious. Everyone does that.

But, I always feel that after the crazy whirlwind of the holidays, it is appropriate to stop and re-evaluate where I am going. After all the spending and consuming, I love putting together a budget for the new year and being able to stick to it. I love planning our key activities and vacations. I love thinking about what I want to accomplish. I like making new job charts and printing off new schedules. I just love planning and order.

And, January is synonymous with planning. At least for me.

As I have been engaging in all these activities this year, I have thought a lot about the over-arching direction I want to go in life.

My friend, Denise, has posted the last two years about having a word for the year. One word that encapsulates what you want to achieve, to become in 2012. I think for me the word is: Simple.

I just want to simplify. To eliminate excess and to focus on the most critical and most essential aspects of living. To give my all to what really matters and to have the courage to let go of the rest.

And, as I have pondered what the essential elements are, as I have really honestly faced how much I can do, and do it well, I have had to ask myself: What about the blog?

I have had some great plans for stepping up my blogging, for adding more posts and focusing more on some practical ideas. But, I have not known if it is one of those most essential things. I love to do it. I want to do it. But, when I promise myself I will and then don't I just feel like it is one more of the endless tasks on my to-do list and it weighs me down. So, I don't want to continue to try to do something that just becomes another burden, another obligation, or a distraction from what is most important.

I am still not entirely certain that I know the right answer. But, after much thought, I have decided to give it a try. If it fizzles out after a few weeks or months, well, then you will be able to discern the final outcome of my evaluation: blogging is not an essential part of my simplified life. But, perhaps, it will succeed and become a great way to share what I am learning in 2012 about my purpose. About simplicity.

So, what does this mean for the blog?

Well, for one, I am changing the title to reflect the purpose I am trying to serve with it over the coming year.

Second, I am adding links to some pages along the top. These represent the topics I intend to regularly post on (the hope is once a week for each), which really dovetail with the various goals I have and areas I have deemed essential in my personal life. An introductory post for each is up. After that, the pages will primarily serve to organize content from this main page into lists of links for past posts related to the various topics.

Third, I am hoping to include more simple ideas, recipes, and practical items in addition to info on our family's happenings.

I think that is about it. I will see how it goes. In the meantime, let me know what you think as the content comes up. I am always looking for ways to improve! (Although, lately, just actually writing would be a good start.)