I've had variable success doing this. Last year was mostly a "not so much" year, but in 2017 I was pretty good at remembering and reviewing and adjusting towards my WotY.
In that spirit, my 2019 WotY is: CONSISTENCY.
There's lots of ideas and half-formed plans and unexecuted proposals banging around in my head. Recently I was listening to an audiobook when a passage struck me:
Beauvoir was reminded of his grandmother... When Jean Guy had visited they'd collect little new peas together and shell them, sitting on the porch. He now knew his grandmother must have been very busy, but she never gave that impression, just as these monks now gave the impression of working steadily. Working hard even, but working at their own pace. (The Beautiful Mystery, Louise Penny)
Working hard even, but working at their own pace. That captures my goal for the year. Instead of throwing myself headlong into a project and getting distracted by every other thing life needs before I'm finished and never completing anything, Slow and Steady and Consistent are to be my mantra this year.
A WotY is a pretty good way to motivate myself towards a common theme or a long-term vision. I have to make it visible, writing it on a notecard for my bulletin board, on my journal cover, in my daily vision imaging.
How do you keep yourself on track?