One Word for 2021

 

When I wrote the title of this post, I thought when everyone reads it they will say to themselves, "One word for 2021 is BETTER!" Well, yes, let's hope. Fingers crossed. But this is my annual New Year's post about how I have given up a bunch of S.M.A.R.T. goals and resolutions; and since 2016, I have been choosing one word for the theme of my year: Organization, Peace, Calm, Grow, Create, and now...

FINISH!  

Yes, my word for 2021 is FINISH. Since last year's word was create, it makes logical sense that this year's word is finish--"How about finishing some of that stuff you created in 2020, Margo?" (That's what my brain said to me on January 1, 2021 this year.) I have so many things to finish, and I'm not even about to list them all here, and I probably won't finish every single one of them. But what I really want to show you is that you can take the one word theme and work it into several areas of your life--not just the obvious one. But let's start with the obvious one:

Finish Manuscripts

Yes, I need to finish manuscripts or at the very least, look at my drafts and see if they are worthy of finishing. 

Finish Online Course

I am enrolled in an online course (self-paced) since last summer, and I am not even 50% through it. I want to finish it. 

Finish Bad Habits

Now you see, I'm thinking outside of the box here. I know it may be hard to believe that I have a few bad habits, but I do. These come in the form of eating too much candy during the day, drinking too much coffee in the morning, wasting time on Facebook, not balancing my life, and so on.

Finish Planning a Trip

My daughter and I want to go on a trip. Now I probably won't start planning it until life is somewhat back to normal with the vaccine, but we will be going to upper state New York to visit my best friend and hopefully Harry Potter world.

Finish Trying to Control Things I Can't Control

Pandemic, anyone? 

As you can see, I have a lot of things I want to finish. And if I start something this year, I want to finish it. I have some big plans for my publishing company and my own writing, plus my family and fun! 

The last two years, I've also gotten my daughter involved in Word of the Year--she's 10. So last year, her word was organized, and this year it is EXPAND. In her mind, she wants to EXPAND her YouTube channel and get more followers, but I can also see all sorts of ways she can expand. Of course she is also at that age where she doesn't want Mom to tell her how she can use her word of the year to make her life better. 

So, do you have a word of the year? If not, how do you manage your New Year's goals? Share with us in the comments.

Margo L. Dill is a mom, writer, publisher, editor, writing teacher and coach, living in St. Louis, MO with her 10-year-old daughter and almost 2-year-old dog. Join her writing classes in the WOW! classroom by going here. 

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8 comments 2021, Margo L. Dill, New Year's goals, one word, resolutions, writing goals

It's Time for the Word of the Year: What's Yours?

Every year around this time, I write a post about my Word of the Year. This is something I started doing in 2016 when I was going through a divorce and was feeling overwhelmed with every aspect of life. The thought of making new year's goals or resolutions was completely out of the picture. My critique group member had read the book: One Word That Will Change Your Life, and she had successfully navigated her way through an entire year, making positive changes focused on this one word she chose. So I thought--why not? If any of you have been through a life-changing time, you know you're often desperate to latch on to anything that will help you make your way through--you're surviving!

Even though, I'm mostly over that hump now and back to writing and enjoying life again, I still prefer the "one word" New Year's goal method rather than coming up with a bunch of goals and resolutions. This year, it's a little different for me because I do have some goals that I'm trying to accomplish each day--working 1 hour and 15 minutes on my own writing before working my day job, teaching WOW! classes, and helping editing clients. But luckily, that all falls under this most glorious word that I chose for 2020:

CREATE! 

As you can see in the photo above, I included my words for each year since 2016: Organization, Peace, Calm, and Grow, so that I can build on them--I do make improvements in each area each year, but there's always room for more growth. 

I chose CREATE this year because I am ready to create the life  I want to live. I want to create books, my business, a better life for my daughter and me, a peaceful and beautiful home, a fun trip to visit my best friend, and who knows what else. But it is a year of creation, and I can't wait! 

Plus I got my daughter in on it, too. When I made that poster above, she also made hers (she's 9!) and hung it in in her room:

So how about you? Have you ever chosen one word to focus on throughout the year? My critique group member shared this site here with us, which helps you figure out your word by answering some questions. I just meditate on it each year, and my word comes to me. But there are all kinds of ways to do it: brainstorm, journal, talk to a friend, check out the site, read the book, and meditate. 

I'd love to hear your thoughts below. But whatever you decide, I hope 2020 is your best year yet! 

Margo L. Dill is the managing editor for WOW! Women On Writing and teaches classes throughout the year on novel writing, writing MG and YA novels, and school visits. Check out more about her here! 

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8 comments achieving goals, Margo L. Dill, My One Word, new year, new year resolutions, one word, word of the year

It's Time to Celebrate Your Writing Success

Happy New Year! Does your head hurt this morning? Did you stay awake til midnight to ring in 2018? Are you currently watching the Rose Bowl parade? A little side note before I start this post: The marching band from my alma mater, Lindbergh High School, is in the parade today, and some of my friends, who are now parents of teenagers, have kids in the band! How cool is that? Look for the green and gold and black if you are watching...

So, my fellow WOW! bloggers have already written some terrific posts about goal setting for 2018 and looking back at 2017 . You may remember from past years that I believe in the ONE WORD approach to the year. This means, that instead of making a bunch of specific goals and resolutions that you probably won't keep, you stick to a one-word theme throughout the year. My word this year is calm, which I blogged about over on my personal blog.

So what in the world is this post going to be about then if everyone has already covered the most important topics for the new year? HA! Good question! But I decided today is going to be about CELEBRATING! 

Don't roll your eyes if you celebrated a little too much last night because you can still celebrate today, and you should. You should celebrate yourself, your writing, your accomplishments, your dreams, and even your failures. As someone wiser than me, Winston Churchill, said, "Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm." And what can show your enthusiasm more than celebrating?

How will you celebrate today? I think that really depends on you. Some people think celebrating is taking a hot bath. Others think wine and chocolate. Still others, like my seven year old, want a dance party and balloons. It doesn't matter how you celebrate, but just do it. And while you are in the middle of that activity, think about what you have to celebrate!

For me: I met all my WOW! blogging and editing deadlines for 2017! I also kept my personal blog going another year. I added testimonials to the Editor 911 site and worked on the design. I continued meeting with my critique group. I finally found an angle for that novel I've been playing around with that makes me feel excited to keep writing it. I made it to a writing conference. I managed to send out a few newsletters and to keep tweeting and posting to Facebook. In the middle of my daily life as a single parent with aging parents and a full-time job, these accomplishments are all cause for celebration!

Today, I'm choosing to celebrate by taking time out to go to a good friend's house this morning with my daughter for a champagne breakfast and to watch the LHS marching band in the parade!

Happy New Year to you! How will you celebrate your success? 

Margo L. Dill is a writer, editor, and teacher, living in St. Louis, MO. She teaches a novel course for WOW! each month, which includes 4 critiques of your work-in-progress. To check out more about her, go to http://www.margoldill.com. To check out her next class starting January 5, go to the WOW! classroom. 

LHS Band photo above by the Seekers ( courtesy of Facebook)

Balloon photo above by alibree on Flickr.com

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7 comments celebrate success, Margo L. Dill, New Year's goals, New Years Resolutions, one word

No Resolutions or Goals: One Word for 2016

This week online, I've been reading about my colleagues' and friends' goals and resolutions for 2016. Since I'm a writer (shocker!), many of my friends are also writers, and a large percentage of these posted goals deal with writing. One of the best posts I saw was from YA, MG, and adult novelist Jennifer Brown (The Hate List), who had a list of about six things-personal and professional-listed on her Facebook page. When I read her list, I was envious and shuddering at the same time.

"Why?" you ask.

2015 was a tough year for me. I'm going through a divorce, and it has completely changed my writing career. I'm not sure if I have a mental block, am exhausted, or have less time for writing--but I haven't written anything creative for months. My marketing skills for my books are less than stellar (okay in the gutter). Thank goodness for WOW! because I am still blogging and teaching writing.

Today, I debated about revealing my divorce on this public blog, but then I thought--I am sure other people out there are facing similar situations (big life changes) and wondering how they will ever make goals and resolutions--either personally or professionally--for 2016. Maybe you are like me and also question: will I ever write/paint/draw/sculpt again? So maybe we can help each other.

Instead of a list of things I must do in 2016, I am going to adopt my writing friend Sarah Whitney's idea from a book she read: One Word That Will Change Your Life by Jon Gordon, Jimmy Page, and Dan Britton. (I knew I was on the right path when my teaching friend Sherri mentioned this book in a Facebook comment just last night!) Basically the way I understand the message of this book is that we should adopt ONE WORD as a theme for our lives for one year. Instead of creating resolutions we break by January 15, we live our lives focused on ONE WORD.

I can really get behind this. I'm afraid a list of goals might break my spirit and make me feel like a failure. Sometimes when I come home from my first full-time job in nine years, I can't imagine doing anything else but playing with my daughter and getting a load of laundry in. So it would seem self-defeating for me to have a goal such as: write five pages a week or finish a novel by June.

So what is my word? Organization. 

My divorce has turned me from one of the most productive, organized people I know to one of the worst. My house is completely unorganized. My writing career is unorganized. My email inbox is a mess. My personal health has also suffered--not as many workouts, not as much sleep, not as much meal planning. So I feel like if I focus on ORGANIZATION, many of these areas will get back on track. Then so will I.


You can find information and resources about creating your own one word on this website: http://getoneword.com

You can order the book: One Word That Will Change Your Life here.

I'll close with a list of words that others have used throughout the years that might help you particularly if you are a writer:

• Commitment
• Grow
• Drive
• Excellence
• Determination
• Confidence
• Complete

Best of luck to you in 2016!

Margo L. Dill is a children's author and teaches writing classes for WOW! Women On Writing. Find out more at http://www.margodill.com .

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13 comments goals, Margo L. Dill, New Years Resolutions, one word, writing career