My Word for 2021

This year is starting off a little...unbalanced. In some areas of my life, I'm so busy that I barely have time to breathe, making progress in other areas a little slow. This would be why things I had planned to have done the first week of the year are still undone, but why I've put in a gazillion hours at work, have seven books read already this year, and have the landscaping guy scheduled to start work on the front yard in a couple weeks.

I thought I had my word for the year chosen, but then had to admit that I was forcing it. It didn't fit where or how I needed this year to go. So I let that one go.

Where exactly do I want this year to go? I'll talk more about that in the Goals 2021 post I'm working on (and hope to have done before the end of the month). I know it's common for people to use choosing a word for the year to replace the traditional resolutions/goal-setting for the year, but I enjoy both. The word to guide my year overall. The goals to help me organize and plan.

We have a big year coming up. Big changes. So I needed to choose a word that would help me guide our family through these changes, plan well, stay focused, but not become worn out or overwhelmed.

To help me stay balanced.

Balance. My word for 2021.

Working from home, it's easy to let work encroach on family time or let family demands distract me from important work projects. This year, it's imperative that I stay balanced. To that end, I've planned small getaways, self-care blocks in my day, and a plan to cozy up our home office.

While that's all well and good, I have some deadlines for work and other big events that can't be moved. So, balance can't translate into just relax more. To provide the necessary support I need to get the hard stuff done, too, I'll be using a large (adorable) project calendar, completing weekly self-assessments, and *gasp* delegating tasks.

I can't delude myself into thinking this year isn't going to be a lot of hard work because it is. It just is. But I can be aware. I can be balanced.

And then next year? I think my word will be vacation.