What’s The Word?

I don’t know about you but 2021 has FLOWN by for me! 2020 was the year that would never end but 2021 is the year that zoomed past while everyone was distracted & arguing about a needle & gas prices. With the end of the year approaching, it is time to start thinking about next year! I know, I know, we’ve got enough to think about with the craziness of the holidays BUT if we don’t start thinking and planning now, we will blink and be on Spring Break without a 2022 plan!

Most years, my word (or phrase) of the year comes to me quickly & easily. It is usually so obvious. However, when thinking about 2022, I was really struggling, I went over to Pinterest and started looking for inspiration but was coming up short. It isn’t that I don’t have goals for 2022, because I do, but they didn’t really have a common theme, or so I thought. In doing my deep thinking, I realized I bet this is a common problem for mommas. We have so many goals but not enough time to organize our thoughts. I decided a quick and easy “What’s The Word?” planner was in order. I created this 6-page document to help moms like me walk through the steps & organize thoughts to get a clear goal and picture for 2022. You can download the planner for FREE at the bottom of this post.

In an effort to be completely transparent & guide you through how to use the planner, I am going to post my *real* planner pages. I ask that you refrain from judging my hurried handwriting, lack of spelling & grammar, and my goals/plans. Let’s start with page 1. The overall purpose of page 1 is to help you reflect on this year and see what went right and what didn’t go the way you wanted. Page 1 is a high-level overview. List out your wins and setbacks in some general categories. Think about your WOY for 2021 and reflect how you accomplished or missed the mark on living that word or phrase. In the bottom left, under Goals For Next Year, reflect on your setbacks and decide what you want to accomplish in 2022. After you’ve done that, utilize the common words/themes/ideas box to list common words you notated in your wins/setbacks/goals. It is ok to leave this area blank and come back to it after tackling page 2.

Page 2 is your Yearly Vision Board. Again, this is a high-level page. Think big picture here. Visualize 2022 and what a successful year looks like for you. I’ve given you a few areas to break down the big picture but this is YOUR vision board so scratch stuff out, replace, add, etc.. For myself, I thought about each area and what I wanted to accomplish in that area during 2022. I tried to be high-level and not box myself in, however, you will find later that I gave myself plenty of opportunities to change and adapt my goals as needed if I find they are not working for me. I want to remind you that this is YOUR vision, so don’t box yourself into my categories. Heck, I created this and you can see I adapted the spiritual category to be more of a “mindfulness” rather than a “go to church” type category. Once you finish page two, go back to page 1 and look for more common themes/words amongst your goals & vision board pages and add them to the box.

Before moving on to page 3, this is where you need to focus is on that “common themes” box from page 1. This is where you will ultimately pick your word or phrase to center 2022 around. Don’t rush this step. Take a day or two to mull the ideas over before moving on to the rest of the pages. I waffled between “more” and “prioritize” for almost 24 hours before ultimately deciding “prioritize” was the best fit for me. Once you’ve committed to your word/phrase tackle the last few pages! You’ll find that I wrote my word on nearly every page…that is just so I can keep it front and center when I was making my goals.

Page 3 is for your Daily Goals. The thought behind this page is “what is something I can do each day to accomplish my big goal?” I gave a few lines for each day. I do not anticipate doing all 3 things each day, that isn’t realistic, however, I tried to give myself options so that no matter what the day throws at me, I can feel somewhat successful. For example, in my health area, even if I have a girl’s night where I blow my Weight Watchers points & drink a margarita, I can (somewhat) easily achieve my step goals making the day a step towards my overall big picture goal. Because I am type A, I had to fill in each blank, but not going to lie I struggled to get 3 options in some areas so don’t worry if you have blank spaces.

Page 4 & 5 look identical but one is for weekly goals and the other is for monthly goals. Basically, what is one thing you can do each week/month to achieve your ultimate vision and focus on your word/phrase? Again, you can list out one thing or give yourself multiple options. Both of mine look a little bare but as you’ll soon see, I gave myself chances to change/add/adapt so I am thinking as the year goes on, I will have better ideas on what I can do each week/month to accomplish my big picture vision.

The last page is a yearly planner. This is high level and basically stepping stones each month to check-in and make sure I am working towards my overall 2022 vision. You’ll notice I start each quarter out with a time to reflect, change, & adapt. I gave myself benchmarks so that I feel successful. I wanted to add specific pounds benchmarks but I ultimately decided to wait until later in the year to nail those specifics down so that I could give myself time to establish new/healthy habits first. Again, blank or bare is ok. Give yourself time to reflect & change as needed. Things change day by day so plan for what you have TODAY and adapt if/when something changes tomorrow.

There you have it, my 6 page What’s The Word? planner Once you’ve gotten your word/phrase picked, come back here and let me know what you decided. I like to find a way to keep my word front and center all year long. In the past, I’ve had it on a sign in my office, engraved on a bracelet, a decal on my favorite water bottle, and most recently a morse code necklace. I haven’t decided how I will display “prioritize” this year but I am leaning towards a simple engraved ring.

You can download your FREE copy of my “What’s The Word?” planner here: