What does balance look like to you? For me, I am looking to be less of a workaholic in 2022, embrace more white space, say no when I just need to rest, and find room in my day-to-day to take care of me. One way I started finding more room to rest in 2021 was to not create blog content a few months of the year. This gave me room to see what I was loving, what was working, and what I could let go of. I plan to still take these breaks in 2022.
To help me find more balance in my day-to-day, I bought a Balance Bound Planner for the new year. I love that this planner is designed by busy women like me, and made in the US. So I can know I am supporting a small business that appreciates my business.
I prefer book-bound planners all day long, no spirals for me. I love that the weekly spread is Monday through Friday with the weekend on its own spread with plenty of room for notes, lists, and reminders. On the weekly spread, you have 4 sections for each day; work, self, others, home. For me, the hardest part of filling in my calendar is figuring out what fits in each of those sections. And when I see gaps in the self section, I know it is time for me to do something for myself. Even it is just a hot bath in the middle of a Friday while listening to an audiobook. (I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a good way to care for yourself in the new year.) Or heading to a coffee shop to grab a special treat and get through that to-do list.
Thankfully at the beginning of my planner, there is a How to use this Balance Bound Planner which helps me decipher if something is for me or others. Clearly, this is an area I can grow in the new year. There is also a My Self Care Toolbox page, which is blank for you to fill in all the ways to care for yourself when you need to feel rested and more balanced. Some of the items I listed were: get off the computer, go for a walk, talk to a friend, journal, have a dance party, and a quick 10-minute clean-up.
The next spread includes a Word of the Year box and then space for your 2022 goals, each goal is divided into a category; work, self, others, home. Are you beginning to see a pattern? As I wrote in my goals, I realized I didn’t have any for myself. Don’t worry I did end up writing down a few. The next page is a Note Index. Each week is across 2 spreads; Monday through Friday is on one, and Saturday through Sunday on the next with a notes page at the end of each week. I am especially excited to have so much room to write each week. A place for phone call notes, reminders, and ideas for the week ahead. This Notes Index page is perfect to keep those notes organized so you can find them later on.
I’ve only been using my Balance Bound Planner for a few weeks, it is only January 17th after all. But so far I am loving it. I keep it open on my desk to keep me focused and remind myself to have margin in my day to do. Don’t mindlessly jump from one thing to the other, instead once I finish a task I mark it off and rest myself for a moment. By taking a deep breath before moving on to the next task. Tasks I don’t complete simply get moved to the next day.
Creating balance for me in 2022 means embracing margin, saying No so I can say Yes to me. If you are still looking for a planner for the new year, I recommend a Balance Bound Planner. I am not an affiliate with Balance Bound, so I say all this because I truly love this planner and look forward to embracing more balance in 2022.
Stylishly Shelby 