My 2014 started on a couch; a wet nose in my face, a faint champagne headache, and a word bouncing around my head.

After letting my friend's dog out and waiting for his family to rouse from their new year's hangovers, we sat in the living room of a rented house and watched 'The Today Show.' Somewhere between Matt Lauer and the other starters and Hoda and Kathy Lee's wine-soaked antics, some guy (whose name and religious affiliation escapes me) was on to talk about choosing a single word to help define how you live your life in 2014. It sounded silly at first. One word to dictate how you behave for a whole year? No way.

But, I kept thinking about it. After spending 2013 floundering in an attempt to figure out what the hell to do with my life (no real luck there), I wanted a way to focus on what I was doing and why. A number of my favorite writers, Patrick Rhone, Leo Babauta, and The Minimalists, write about being mindful. It seemed that mindfulness was the perfect word to shape my 2014.

I'm not entirely sure how to judge how mindful I was in 2014. I don't know if it's something you can truly measure. I fell short of being mindful quite a bit (I cannot tell you how many hours I lost to Threes! which you should check out). But in some instances , I made it out okay. I committed to training for, and ran my first half-marathon. I job hunted in a new city, a process that was an emotional roller coaster. I moved my life to Austin, Tx, but I brought along my lovely girlfriend, Colore' Grace.

I was more mindful with my time and my passions in 2014. I took a class with the amazing Lauren Essl of Blue Eye Brown Eye to follow a rekindled passion from childhood. I then took a second class to grow that skill and build some amazing friendships. I devoted my time to improving my calligraphy and lettering, and shared some of that on my Instagram account and my blog. Slowly, very slowly, I started sharing some of the writing that I fill my Field Notes with every day.

All of these new habits, I carried with me into 2015. With the new year though, I didn't just want to be mindful of what I am doing, I wanted to have a purpose. Despite it's newly minted status as the buzzword du jour, I wanted to live 2015 with intention. Instead of simply being aware or mindful of how I spend my time/attention/money, I want to do things with a purpose.

At this point, I'm two and a half months into living 2015 with intention. I'm spending more of my time doing the things I love with the people I care about, and I'm making the most of the time that isn't entirely mine (my commute for example). I've been reading more, listening to an insane number of podcasts, and lettering and shooting photos with Colore more than ever. There is no better way I could think of to spend my time.

Perhaps the biggest impact in intentional living has come from adopting the habit of meditation. I started using the amazing Headspace to guide the process. Those 10-15 minutes every day help immensely. It is helping me learn to settle my mind and be more calm reacting to change and the ups and downs of life. I'll write more about the meditation habit once I've been doing it for longer, but as of this moment, I have a 72 day streak and I have no plans on breaking it.

On a daily basis, I'm filling memo books and my Hobonici Techo with my thoughts and ideas. I'll be using those to report on my progress, and I'll be checking in here every month. What do you do to help keep your intentions top of mind?