2020’s Word of the Year

I love the idea of choosing a word or theme for the year, even if I’m not great at follow through. This year might be the year that it changes as far as the follow through goes.

When I say this word came to me, it wasn’t in a dream or mystical vision. I was just thinking about what I need and want for the upcoming year – a baby due in 2 months, a rowdy 3-year-old at home, business goals, etc.

BALANCE

I started my business just over a year ago, and it’s already grown beyond my wildest dreams. I’ve struggled though with finding the balance between Business Professional Heather and Mama Heather and Wife Heather and all the other hats I try to wear.

In each area of my life, I get tunnel vision and tend to block out the things that aren’t pressing at me immediately. When I have a quilt deadline, I call my mom and she’ll babysit for a day or two so I can hunker down in my sewing studio and focus on quilting. I’ll emerge later, covered in strings and fabric scraps, quilt bound, and absolutely exhausted.

And then I remember, oh yeah, I have a kid – I need to read more books with him and take him to the playground and play with his zillions of trucks. So I’ll try to be super mom for a day or two, and then oh yeah, I have a house (my husband really does most of the cleaning as I’m awful about it – that’s a story for another day), and a husband (have I been as supportive of him as he is of me?), and I’m trying to lose weight (gotta count every single calorie), and what have I done for my business lately?

I throw myself into each thing – sometimes it lasts a day or weeks that I focus mainly on one thing to the detriment of all others. When I realize I’ve neglected something, I rush to over schedule myself to make up for lost time, burn out, and bounce to the next thing. It’s not the best way to live my life and it’s not the best way to run a business.

I’m not sure exactly what my ideal balance will be. I had been working on quilts and designs (business things) while my son napped. But now at 30 weeks pregnant, I’ve been napping with him more often than not. I know that I will not get more energy at this point in my pregnancy. Part of my journey to find my balance is recognizing that it’ll change over time – nap times aren’t work times anymore (at least not consistently). So work time will get moved from nap time to evenings/weekends when my husband is home.

The main thing I’m not doing this year is making grand pronouncements and setting detailed outlines of what each day will look like. I’ve finally learned that sets me up for failure. As much as I love making calendars and schedules and color coding everything, it just doesn’t work in my life. I don’t need to have the answers now; I just need to have the flexibility to adapt to each day’s challenges.

Do you set a word for the year? What did you choose for this year?