Word of the year: Clarity

Surprisingly, I did not start this year with a giant sense of dread or depleted energy reserves. I credit my two-week winter break for this, and the fact that I allowed myself to not do anything on my winter break list. Normally, I do my annual review at the end of the year, but since I decided to host an IRL event for this, I’ll do it later this week. And usually, at the end of the review process, I’ll have some word theme that pops out at me. But this year, I have my word already! 

Clarity. 

In kismet style, I’ve already seen this word pop up in a business book I finished last month, two different webinars promoted by newsletters I receive, and in my guided meditation app. And it’s only the first week of the year.

To me, clarity means simplifying, laser-focusing on my ideal clients, intentional living while participating in my local communities, continually checking in on my goals, and taking care of my physical health. I had written about health insurance in November, and I did end up dropping down a level on my health plan, so I’m doing everything possible to take care of my health.

There are some lifestyle changes I want to make. In 2025, I really leaned into my circadian rhythm and have since learned that while my body wants to stay up until 3 am, I should probably dial it back to 2 am for better sleep. I would also love to try a four-day workweek. On the weekends, I find myself sleeping in too much, using Saturday as a no-work, very chill day, and then cramming chores into Sunday. I firmly believe in the “work smarter, not harder” ethos, and would like to return to using timers to ensure I don’t go off on a million project tangents. 

As for this newsletter, I like where it’s at right now! I’ve been enjoying compiling it and having some dynamic sections to use as I want. This feeling—along with feeling decent about this year instead of overwhelmed—is a rarity, and I’m going to run with it. For me, making myself do things because it’s how I’ve always done it or because I want to keep some streak going has negative implications on my time and energy. It’s never only about the time spent doing that task; it’s bookended by hours to days of dread, resentment, and procrastination—energy vampires that I don’t care to host in my life.

If you care to share, I’d love to know what energy vampires you’re letting go of this year, or if you have a word/phrase of the year. Send me a reply or leave a comment on the post.

Below are my past word of the years (I've been doing this for a while now!).

• 2017: Deliberate
• 2018: The Year of Me
• 2019: Focus
• 2020: Centered
• 2021: None (pandemic woes)
• 2022: Intuition
• 2023: Leap
• 2024: Nourish
• 2025: Growth