Time stays on my mind a lot, but especially so at the changing of a year. I track it a little closer. And watch it pass a little quicker.
Although not by design, I’m unsurprised that my collection of Share 4 Somethings this month ended up centering on time—specifically on tools that help me live my hours and days with more intention.
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Something I loved
- SEEING THE YEAR ALL AT ONCE
Are you a calendar person? I’d be lost without mine—both digital and paper. [Do You Write In Your Calendar With Ink or Pencil?]
I’ve added one more calendar to the mix the past three years: a continuous calendar.
I use this one for one purpose only—to log when we’re going to be out of town. No weekly boxes. No clutter. Just the full year stretched out in one spot.
There’s something grounding to see our planned comings and goings in this way—a visual reminder of the subtle shifts in location we want to make over the year.
Here’s the link to the free continual calendar site I download from, though there are plenty of other options online.
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Something I learned
- LETTING AI HELP SCHEDULE MY ONE WORD
The past couple of years I’ve asked AI to help organize my One Word of the Year into a practical, monthly schedule. I start with a simple prompt to give it my own ideas, like:
> “My new One Word of the Year for 2026 is ___. Create a calendar with a monthly theme, three journal prompts, and three activities centered on one aspect of my word, such as ___.”
Then I ask for more ideas. I narrow them down to the ones I like the best. Then I ask for a one-page printable. And finally, a visual (although I’ve yet to love theirs, so I create my own).
What I’ve learned is I don’t have to outsource my thinking to AI to get the most from it. Instead, I can just use it as a conversation partner to spot patterns and better organize themes. For my 2026 word, it was once again helpful to keep my plans simple and doable.
(If you want to play with AI to discover or refine your own One Word of the Year, try these 6 prompts.)
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Something that went well
- 15 YEARS, 1 LINE AT A TIME
Wow—it’s hard to believe I’ll finish writing my third five-year “one line a day” journal on December 31. That means I’ve been doing this for fifteen years?!!
I’ve already bought my newest 5-year book, ready to begin on January 1, 2026. (I’d love to find a spiral-bound one, but no luck yet.)
While I don’t always love doing it, I always love having done it (that makes sense, right?). It’s a quick, low-pressure way to capture one small—or big—thing from each day.
The real fun comes from looking back at the same date across different years. It’s a nice little snapshot of who and where I was then, and a reminder of details I’d otherwise have forgotten (like, what was the name of that restaurant we really liked in Panama City?).
Here’s what I wrote on this day:
One year ago:
December 29, 2024, Su.
Jeff and H ride bikes. I throw away more stuff.
Five years ago:
December 29, 2019, Su.
Such a fun trip seeing the girls! I’m exhausted.
Ten years ago:
December 29, 2015, Tu.
HARD day with stomach pain. Visit doc but no help. Jeff taking good care of me.
(Less than a month later, I’d have my gallbladder removed—problem solved.)
It makes me wonder what I’ll write at the end of this day, and how it will sound to future me, who will already know what came next.
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Something I let go of
- A DAY TO RELEASE AND REIMAGINE
A few weeks ago, I spent a day letting go of 2025 and looking ahead to 2026. I followed the same schedule from this amazing book I used last year, including one activity where I stacked a coin for every year I’ve lived—and then estimated another stack for how many years I might have left.
It’s a sobering practice. (Who knows if the remaining stack should be much shorter—or even taller?)
During the journaling, I wrote down what I believed to be my biggest problem and my greatest joy. I’m curious to see, a year from now, whether they’ve shifted or stayed the same.
Also from the book is a blessing I’ve been carrying with me ever since—I offer it first to myself then extend it outward to others:
As I grow older, may I be kind to myself;
As I grow older, may I accept joy and sorrow;
As I grow older, may I be happy and at peace.
I can’t predict what will happen in this coming year. But one thing I do know, if we’re still here:
Time will keep moving.
Calendars will keep turning.
And we’ll keep showing up in the days we’re given—living them, remembering them, and letting them go . . . when it’s time.
A Question for You:
What’s a tool or practice that helps you live with time? Do you use a digital or physical calendar? A journal?
Share your thoughts in the comments.
Read more about time:
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