Some people may think that choosing a word of the year is dumb. I get it. I truly do. Does it really matter if you chose a word of the year? Does it really change your path? Mold your thoughts and actions? Create a magical path towards happiness and contentment? 

I don’t know. 

But I know it doesn’t hurt. 

I’ve said it before…I am TERRIBLE at goal setting, being intentional, “putting it out in the universe” and all of that stuff. However, choosing a word of the year has been a small step towards getting better at that whole thing. Because I do think it is valuable to do any of those things listed above. It is a single easy to remember word that I can picture in my mind without even trying. Which is what I need in this crazy busy stage of life. I don’t have time to sit and meditate on it (as much as I wish I did), so I need quick and dirty and this seems to work for me. 

The last 2 years have been big time years of growth, change, joy, with a few minor disasters and heartbreaks thrown in the mix, and because of that I have really let that whole work/LIFE balance thing fall to the wayside. I am a chronic over-worker. I have felt for years that because I am self-employed I have to always be working. I can’t tell you how many nights I have fallen asleep on the couch with my laptop instead of climbing into bed with my husband. I have forgone nights out and visits to friends to stay home and get work done. I have sat at the cabin with my laptop praying my LTE service hangs in there long enough to get this email sent or that blog posted. Bottom line…I rarely shut off my business brain and let myself relax and enjoy the life I have worked so hard to build. Which doesn’t serve me or my clients very well sometimes, because I am physically, mentally, and emotionally EXHAUSTED. 

So I chose my word of 2018 as a wish and a hope for what I want to create for myself in this new year. Balance. Work, life, all the things…balance. I have recently expanded the MMW team, become more strict about setting “office hours”, taking on only clients that are a perfect fit for my company, and giving myself permission to enjoy life and not work it away. 

It has not been easy to figure out how to go about making the changes that will help bring more balance into my life and I have lots of work to do on making it happen but so far here’s what I have been working on: 

– Not scheduling appointments on Monday’s because I really enjoy watching The Bachelor and having a glass of wine. 

– Leaving my laptop at the office. (this has worked miracles I tell you- even if I have only succeeded a handful of times in actually doing so) 

– Picking up a book while supper is cooking (currently reading You Are a Badass…it’s a life-changer thus far and full disclosure I have been trying to read this book for a full year…I wish I was kidding…I never got further than a few pages in before I decided I didn’t have time to sit and read) 

– Making a list of things an assistant can do so I can focus on more important things, and/or take more time for myself. 

– Going on inexpensive and silly dates with my husband. We went to The Greatest Showman  (we had a gift card from 3 years ago that we had not used) and it was the first time I have been in a movie theatre for 6 years. I loved it, the date and the movie.  

– Scheduling social media and blog posts and stories so that the content I want people to see gets out there, I just don’t have to sit and work on it 12 hours a day. 

So here’s to BALANCE and enjoying the life I have worked so hard to create! Figuring out what being intentional means and figuring out how to take my business to the next level while still being present in my life outside of work. 

Cheers! 

XOXO, Amber