Community Event Spotlight: How to Host a One Little Word Workshop

The One Little Word Project was created in 2006 by author and blogger Ali Edwards. Her idea was to use one word to describe and set her intentions for the upcoming year. Edwards believed it would better enable her to stay focused and on track as she went about her busy daily life.

Since its creation, the One Little Word Project has become a true movement, being adopted by individuals and groups alike. Workshops are a popular way for people to better understand this concept and how to select and stick with their one little word. They are a great opportunity for your community center to hold a series of events throughout the year.

Steps to Hosting a One Little Word Workshop

While a variety of online resources are available to help your community center present a workshop, there are three primary objectives you’ll want to achieve:

1. Choose a word for the year.

The first part of your workshop should focus on helping attendees select their word to live by for that year. The team member who teaches this portion of the project should be comfortable encouraging people to find a word that is personal and meaningful to them. It could be a word that invites change, propels the person forward or slows them down, brings focus, or inspires hope.

For those who struggle with this part of the workshop, it might help to share words that have worked well for others in previous years. A few suggestions to share with attendees could be:

• Growth
  
• Peace
  
• Adventure
  
• Balance
  
• Enjoy
  
• Bloom
  
• Believe
  
• Optimism
  
• Breathe
  
• Family
  
• Community
  
• Confidence
  
• Persist
  
• Relax
  
• Engage
  
• Grateful
  
• Faith
  
• Friendship
  
• Hope
  
• Generosity
  
• Kindness
  
• Listen
  
• Nurture
  
• Simplify
  
• Treasure
  
• Thankful
  
• Wellness

Once everyone has chosen a word that expresses their hopes for the new year, the next step is to find ways to create visible reminders. By seeing the word throughout the day, people will be reminded of what they’ve decided is most important to them.

2. Make the word more visible

Attendees can create visible reminders of their one little word in a variety of ways:

• Signage: Depending on the word an attendee selects, they might be able to find it on a cutout wood sign at a craft store. If not, they can purchase one from a custom Etsy store or through a local artist. You could research options ahead of time to share at the workshop.
  
  
• Keychain: Most of us use a keychain of some type every day. Another idea is for attendees to order one with their word on it. Seeing it over and over can serve as a reminder to focus on what they identified as their priority for the new year.
  
  
• Morning journal: Another idea is to encourage attendees to adopt the practice of morning journaling. They could start each day by writing down their word and the progress they are making toward keeping it top of mind.

3. Discuss a check-in schedule

The final part of your workshop could be to discuss the idea of gathering on a regular basis to check in. These meetings could allow attendees to hold one another accountable or help each other explore their one little word in more depth. They might also be an opportunity to host arts and crafts projects that feature attendees’ words.

Promote Your One Little Word Workshop

If you decide to move forward with hosting a workshop at the end of the year, consider sending out a media release to your local publications and television stations. How to Write a Media Release to Promote a Center Event is a good article to review if you don’t have prior experience writing them.

Updated on 11-11-2025