How I Built a Word of the Year Generator After Accidentally Creating Thousands of Wallpapers

There’s a moment every business owner has where you stop mid-task and think:

Why am I doing this the hard way?

For me, that moment came somewhere between creating my hundredth personalised Word of the Year wallpaper… and realising I still had thousands more to go.

And yes - the solution should have been obvious. Especially to me as an AI Teacher!

The idea that worked a little too well

I created a free Word of the Year experience for my audience.

It was designed to be calm, reflective, and grounding - a way to step into the year ahead with intention rather than pressure.

People loved it.

It spread quickly, and before I realised what was happening, thousands of people were using it.

To complete the experience, I began creating personalised mobile wallpapers — something people could actually live with on their phone lock screen. Not just a word, but a visual reminder they’d see every day.

At first, it felt thoughtful and creative.

Then it quietly became unsustainable.

The hidden cost of doing everything manually

I was spending hours:

- Designing the same wallpaper layout again and again

- Adjusting typography for different names

- Checking spacing so nothing was cropped on real phones

- Repeating the same creative decisions over and over

One afternoon, mid-task, I had a very honest thought:

I literally teach people how to use AI to remove this exact kind of work.

Which was… humbling and embarrasing!

When the system should have come first

I teach AI across industries.

I help people build workflows, systems, and custom GPTs that reduce manual effort and protect their energy.

And yet here I was - manually producing thousands of near-identical outputs.

That was the “duh” moment.

Why wasn’t this automated?

Not in a rushed or soulless way - but in a way that respected:

- Design quality

- Consistency

- Tone

- Scale

So I stopped creating more wallpapers… and started building a system instead.

In practice, this didn’t mean starting from scratch.

The wallpaper studio was added as the final step in the existing Word of the Year generator workflow - the natural point where people wanted something tangible to take away.

From there, it also made sense to release it as a standalone tool for anyone who wanted just the visual experience.

What is a Word of the Year generator?

A Word of the Year generator is a tool designed to help someone identify a single guiding word to shape focus, intention, and decision-making over a year.

Instead of setting multiple goals, the word acts as an anchor - influencing choices, priorities, and behaviour in a more flexible and sustainable way.

This was already working.

The problem wasn’t the idea.

The problem was the execution.

You can read more about it here:

Read My Word of the Year Blog

Building a custom GPT instead of burning out

I built a custom Word of the Year Wallpaper Studio - a GPT designed to do one thing well.

It generates the actual wallpaper image, not prompts or suggestions.

It follows strict design rules so the output is:

- Lock-screen safe

- Minimal and uncluttered

- Centrally aligned

- Calm and premium

It uses abstract light, texture, atmosphere, and landscape - never faces or people - so no one feels misrepresented or boxed into an image that isn’t them.

Once it was built, something interesting happened.

The bottleneck disappeared.

The experience improved.

And I stopped being the system.

You can try it out here:

Make a WOTF mobile wallpaper

This wasn’t really about wallpapers

It was about recognising when something crosses the line from:

This is manageable

to

This needs a system

AI isn’t about replacing creativity.

It’s about protecting it.

When designed intentionally, AI can handle repeatable execution while humans stay focused on meaning, values, and direction.

And yes - I needed my own reminder!!!!

Why I automated this instead of scaling manually

I could have hired help.

I could have simplified the experience.

I could have capped usage.

But none of those solved the real issue.

The real issue was repeatable work with clear rules - the exact scenario AI is good at handling.

Design once.

Define boundaries.

Let the system do the repetition.

That’s not laziness.

That’s sustainability.

The real lesson here

If you’re doing something repeatedly that:

- Follows clear patterns

- Has defined constraints

- Requires care but not constant reinvention

That’s not a failure of effort.

That’s a sign it’s time to build a system - whether that’s an AI workflow, a custom GPT, or a better process altogether.

Sometimes the smartest move isn’t working harder.

It’s pausing long enough to ask:

Is this a job for a system?

And then actually building one.

FAQ

What is a Word of the Year generator?

A Word of the Year generator is a tool that helps someone choose a single guiding word to shape focus, intention, and decision-making over the course of a year.

Why choose a Word of the Year instead of setting goals?

Many people find a Word of the Year more sustainable than traditional goals because it offers direction without pressure. Goals can still exist, but the word acts as a flexible anchor.

Can AI be used to create meaningful Word of the Year experiences?

Yes. When designed intentionally, AI can support reflective experiences by handling repeatable structure while humans bring meaning, values, and personal insight.

How does a Word of the Year wallpaper help?

A wallpaper acts as a daily visual reminder. Seeing your Word of the Year regularly helps reinforce intention without needing constant effort or tracking.