Habits

 

 

Lots of people choose a 'Word of the Year'.

It helps them to focus on a certain aspect in their life.

Have you already chosen one?

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few years ago I discovered this yearly habit on the internet.

Since then, each January a new word came along and guided me through the year.

 

In 2020 my word of the year was 'oasis'.

Often feeling rushed - both at work and in private life - I decided to focus on creating an oasis of time, peace, … for myself.

Well, I certainly got served. Because thanks to the coronavirus we all lived on our little island for several months.

Adding to that a few important decisions (which I took on many different levels), that year indeed brought me more peace, both physically and mentally.

 

In 2021 my word of the year was 'space'.

Being confined a lot the previous year and often working from home, I became aware of how much unnecessary stuff was being kept in my closets. Things that were stored in case they ever would come in handy, clothes that weren't worn anymore, mediocre books that would never be read again, … There even was too much furniture which gave me a suffocating feeling.

That's why I decided to create more breathing space by giving or throwing the things away that I didn't need anymore, both at home and at work. 

And it's absolutely true what they say: "Clear space, clear mind"!

Besides this more literal meaning of 'space', the figurative sense also played a big role during the past year. Goodreads, Netgalley, the Dutch blog of Bohse, my own blog, … formed my new favourite places on the internet-space to get inspired and to pass on my own inspiration to others.

 

Now it's time to choose my word of the year 2022.

Both previous words not only guided me through two years, but they changed my way of thinking as well. And I certainly want to continue on this path to peace, minimalism, …

To help me achieve that, I need to find a certain rhythm and way of life.

And what better way to do that than through my new word of the year: 'habits'.

 

 

Normally I'm a rather spontaneous person and until now hearing the word 'habit' always gave me the shivers. Because it stood for 'boring', 'predictable', 'draining energy' and lots of other negative connotations.

But getting rid of bad habits (of which we aren't always aware) and replacing them by energizing new ones can be a good thing!
That's something that proved to be completely right, after I tried out some tips from the books Speed Reading and The One Thing.

 

 

Habits can be implemented in many different fields.

But since this is a book blog, I'll take a closer look at some of the habits I'd like to consolidate in this area.

 

 

Reading daily was never a problem, until a few months ago when my workdays became more exhausting and some health problems showed up.
Some people don't like short stories, but I really love them! There are lots of titles on my 'to be read'-list, but I never seem to come around to actually take the time to read them.

Combining both problems, the solution is very simple: I'm going to read one short story every day!

 

In so doing reading daily will become a habit again (without taking too much of my time if I'm tired) ánd all these short stories will finally be read.

This even has a third and fourth advantage: it will help me discover new authors (totally love that!) and to manage my TBR-list.

Because based on their short stories it's often easy to predict if certain authors will appeal to me or not. So if the writing style of the short story isn't my cup of tea, I can just skip all the books of that author, which will save me time. In the opposite case my TBR-list will be growing with books I'm really looking forward to.

 

 

My collection of unread books is enormous: at least 300 paper books and 300 e-books are waiting on my physical and electronic shelves.

As I'm giving most of my paper books away and discarding e-books from my Kobo once I've read them, it's always nice to keep a memory of my reading experience. Why did I like a certain book or what annoyed me in others?

When reading many books, you sometimes forget these details. And if you don't own the books anymore, you can't flip through them to look these things up.

That's why I'll try to hold on to my habit of writing a review of every book or story I've read!

 

It's so nice to rediscover some of my earlier reviews and getting the same feeling all over again as at the time I was reading the book or story.

At the same time it's a good way of letting my Goodreads-friends know what impression a book or story left on me, so that they can decide if it appeals to them or not.

 

 

 

As I wrote earlier, there are more than 600 books available in my private library.
Not to mention the many books I buy during the year whenever there's reason to celebrate or when I need some cheering up or … Mmmm, does one actually need to have a reason to buy even more books?

Just to keep things flowing, there's another habit I'd like to install: read at least 50 paper books and 50 e-books every year!

That way both my paper and my electronic shelves will be tackled at the same time.

At the end of the year, this means that there'll be at least 100 books less on my shelves.

 

 

 

Being quite a perfectionist, it's often difficult for me to place a review or a blog without mulling it over several times.

The problem is that sometimes this leads to not posting anything at all.

Even though I have lots of ideas and interesting things I long to share with you.

That's where my fourth habit comes in: trying to blog at least one article a week!

 

My articles don't have to be long nor perfect.

They just have to capture my enthusiasm and keep you entertained.

 

There are several other habits I want to install.
But let's start with these four and see where we're going from there 😉

 

And you?

Do you have a word of the year?