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What to Do If Your One Word Has Stopped Working
{One Word 2026 June Linkup}

By LisaNotes June 26, 2026 One Word Community, Shift: One Word 2026 1 Comment

We’ve almost reached the halfway point of the year, which makes this a good time to check in with your One Word.

How is it going?

Maybe your word is still inspiring you. You notice it often, and it keeps you focused.

But what if it isn’t? What if you’ve forgotten it altogether? Or it will no longer fit in with the second half of your year?

First, it’s okay either way.

There’s no right or wrong with a One Word practice. It’s simply a tool for growth and reflection. And like any tool, sometimes it needs to be picked up again, sharpened, or even replaced.

So, if your One Word has stopped working, here are three things to try. And if it is still working? Keep moving forward with it. These ideas are for you, too. 

1. Take a Word Walk

Before you abandon your word, spend one more day with it.

Take a short walk as you think about your word. Notice anything that reminds you of your word. Ask yourself:

  • How have I seen my word on this walk? 
  • Why did I choose this word in the first place?
  • Where have I seen it show up this year?

Write down a few observations when you get back home. You may discover your word actually has been working, even when you weren’t paying attention. Or not. 

For me, I’ve chosen the word SHIFT for 2026 to help me accept that everything changes.

 

The morning of this practice, I was walking through my neighborhood when I saw a younger neighbor taking her morning run. It reminded me of SHIFT because years ago, that would have been me running. And it would have been my parents walking. Now it’s someone younger than me doing the running, and I am doing the walking.

 

Everything SHIFTS over time, including our bodies and the activities we do. 

2. Use Your Word as a Lens

Sometimes the problem isn’t the word. It’s that we’ve stopped using it.

For the next week, set a daily reminder—or a weekly reminder for the next month—and ask yourself:

  • Where do I need this word right now?
  • Could this word provide a useful perspective in navigating a current challenge?
  • What would change if I viewed things through the lens of my word?

A word that seemed irrelevant a month ago may be what you need today. But if not, look for alternative words. 

I’ve been through a few monumental changes in relationships the past 3-4 years. They’ve been quite jarring and created a lot of pain.

 

But viewing the world through the lens of SHIFT, I’m reassured that while life always has been and always will be full of changes, it still keeps moving forward. With the help of others and the skills I continue to learn and practice, I see that I also continue to change. And keep moving forward too.  

3. Refresh Your Reminders 

Sometimes a word has simply done its job.

Perhaps you outgrew it. Or your circumstances changed. Maybe another word better captures where you are now.

Don’t let the word you chose become an obligation. If your current word no longer serves you, choose a new one. You’re not breaking any rules (there are none). 

But whether you keep the same word or replace it, create a few fresh reminders for yourself of your word. Maybe move your word to a new location, write it on a sticky note, use it as a bookmark, or turn it into a simple phrase:

  • I choose peace over urgency.
  • Practice courage today.
  • Let curiosity lead.

Sometimes a small reminder is enough to bring your focus back to what matters.

After putting together this Puzzle Planter last week, I set it on my nightstand. Before I go to sleep each night, I’ve been turning it upside down as a symbol to SHIFT my mindset from being an open container to a closed one. The day is complete, and there’s nothing more for me to do except rest.

 

When I wake up in the morning, I set the planter upright again, indicating my intention to be open to the new things that will appear in this new day. 

Remember the Goal

The goal of One Word isn’t to stick with the same word for 365 days no matter what.

The purpose is to create awareness and meaning.

Let your word be an invitation to pay closer attention, reflect on your life, and grow with intention.

So if your One Word has stopped working, you don’t have to give up on the practice altogether (although you can do that, too).

Try reconnecting with it. Reimagining it. Or replacing it.

Then keep going.

Share Your One Word Update

Share your own One Word updates in the comments or add a One Word blog post in the linkup below. It will remain open until midnight, Friday, July 10.

You’re also welcome to share your photos in the One Word Facebook group throughout the month.

Looking ahead, the July linkup opens Sunday, July 26.

Question for you:
Is your word still working or not? Would you like to change it? Share in the comments.

If you’d like to receive our monthly One Word emails and ideas for 2026, join here.

Link Up About Your One Word

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Click here to enter

10 Ways to Think Bigger About Time

By LisaNotes June 23, 2026 Book reviews, Productivity, Shift: One Word 2026 4 Comments

“I can trust that if I just keep working at it, and keep coming back to it, time will help me see things that I couldn’t see before.”
—Laura Vanderkam

A few years ago, I started keeping a time log for one week out of the year.

I expected the results to confirm what I already believed: that my days were too packed and there wasn’t enough time for all the things I wanted to do.

Instead, I discovered something different.

Yes, it did show that I crammed a variety of things into a week. But I was surprised at how much time I also categorized as play and rest, which was good. (I was also surprised at how much time I spend eating in any given week!).

What I learned was my assumptions about my schedule didn’t match reality.

That’s one reason I enjoy Laura Vanderkam’s books so much, including her newest, Big Time: A Simple Path to Time Abundance.

Her message is simple and reassuring: you have more time than you think. She wants us to stop seeing time as scarce and to “fall in love with how we’re spending our days.”

As I read, I took notes on how to practice this book. What shifts could I make in my own relationship with time?

Here are 10 ideas from Big Time that I want to experiment with.

1. Realign My Reading Expectations

Instead of overestimating how many books I can read this summer, I looked at how many reading hours per week I’d previously logged, and then figured out how many books would fit in that time. Starting with more realistic expectations will help me prioritize my summer TBR stack and enjoy each book without rushing to the next one.

2. Stop Saying “I Don’t Have Time”

Vanderkam encourages replacing a scarcity time mindset (I too often say “I don’t have enough time!”) with one of abundance. I don’t know if I’ll be able to authentically say “I have lots of time!” but I’ll try. I want to remember that time isn’t the problem nearly as often as my choices and expectations are.

3. Track Time More Often

I usually track my time one week in the winter, but I’d like to track it in the summer too and see if it’s different. If nothing else, it holds me accountable during that week to use my time a little more wisely because I don’t want to write down that I was mindlessly watching Instagram reels for an hour.

“Time tracking provides accountability. Most people don’t want to document a three-hour YouTube binge on their time logs, so they choose to do more fulfilling things. Then they feel better about the day.”

4. Experiment with “21 Pods”

One idea in the book is dividing the week into twenty-one four-hour blocks (8am-noon; noon-4pm; 4pm-8pm). I’m curious whether thinking in larger chunks of time would help me organize my days differently.

5. Treat Weekends Like Vacations

Vanderkam suggests that people enjoy weekends more when they approach them like mini-vacations. I already do this somewhat, but I’d like to be even more intentional about noticing and savoring those hours. (Granted, this assumes you can do this. Not everyone has that option.)

“When people were instructed to treat their upcoming weekends like vacations, they wound up happier, less stressed, and more satisfied. They spent less time working and on housework. They did a few more fun things than they might have, but most important, they paid more attention to the happy things they did—perhaps feeling more like this time was special.”

6. Dream Big and Plan Small

I love Vanderkam’s philosophy that small steps add up. Big projects feel managable when broken down into baby steps. That’s how I’ve been organizing my bloated folders of digital photos. Just 10 or 15 minutes a night really makes a difference over several months.

“People overestimate what they can do in the short run. They underestimate what they can do in the long run.”

7. Leave More Open Space

I tend to want to schedule everything. But not every hour needs a plan. I want to create more blank spots on my calendar to allow room for spontaneity and for “wasting” time.

8. Make Small Bets

I sometimes forget that not every commitment has to last forever. Vanderkam encourages experimenting with smaller doses. I don’t need to create rigid rules for myself when they’re not necessary (and usually no one is asking me to do that anyway!). So I want to give myself permission to adjust course as often as needed.

9. Think in Years, Not Days

One of my favorite ideas in the book is focusing on the 8,760 hours in a year instead of just the 24 hours we have today. A single day can fly by so fast, but a year offers more time for growth, change, and progress. (Especially when looking ahead. When I look backwards, a year flies by quickly too.)

10. Celebrate Patience Points

Vanderkam suggests celebrating ordinary milestones when you’ve completed a set number of things. I’d like to incorporate this with a writing project I’ve been working on this year. Pausing to celebrate and reward myself for showing up consistently is a good use of my time.

The Gift of Looking Again

After finishing Big Time, I found myself looking back again at my previous time logs. And remembering how surprised I am each time to see how my hours played out.

I have more agency than I realize over how I fill those hours.

The gift of this book isn’t creating more hours or time hacks. It’s about developing a healthier relationship with time itself. Instead of seeing time as something that’s slipping away, Vanderkam encourages us to see it as something working alongside us.

“When you believe in big time, then you can afford to be patient.”

I need that reminder. When I stop treating time as an enemy and start trusting it as an ally, I relax a little more, enjoy life a little more, and focus more clearly on what matters.

Maybe that’s the biggest lesson I took from Big Time: time is always big enough for the things that matter most.

What’s your relationship with time? Share your thoughts in the comments.

My thanks to NetGalley for
the review copy of Big Time

Read more on time:

The Name I Couldn’t Quite Pronounce

By LisaNotes June 17, 2026 My stories, Relationships 4 Comments

One More Time: What’s Your Name?

We’ve settled in at our table, just me and this young girl from Afghanistan.

I have to ask her name again. I didn’t catch it the first time. Or the second time. Not even when the other adults pronounced it.

And honestly? Even as the girl tells me her name again for the third time—and I do my best to echo it back properly—I still don’t think I’m getting it right.

But she doesn’t correct me.

She just smiles and we go on, doing our best to understand each other.

Learning Each Other’s Language

She’s here at my table because her parents want her exposed to more English before school starts next fall. She already speaks some English, but it’s difficult for her.

I want her to practice reading to me. But the first book we open is too hard for her. She’s 7 years old, but she can’t read the book. Not in English anyway.

We switch to flash cards using the English alphabet. She doesn’t know the sounds of the letters. But she does know the names of each one. That’s something. Plus, she thinks it is fun.

Soon we finish the stack of cards. Now it’s time for reading again.

The Book She Chooses

I pick up a second book. I’ll just read it to her this time, then we can talk about it.

I read the title first. And I recognize this book. Even though the girl had picked it out herself among the other books on the table at the beginning of the hour, she couldn’t have understood the significance of it.

But I immediately get it.

And as I read this book to her now, my heart both warms and aches.

The book? Your Name Is a Song by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow.

Your Name Is a Song

It’s about a girl whose classmates and teacher can’t pronounce her name.

Saddened by this, the girl in the story walks home, vowing never to return to school again.

But the mother in the book turns it around. She teaches her daughter the beauty of names, including hers. She reminds her that names carry stories, histories, and love. She turns names into the beautiful music they are. The girl returns to school the next day to teach that message to others.

I finish reading this story to my new little Afghan friend, whose name I still can’t pronounce.

I doubt she sees the irony.

So I ask her name one more time. And this time, I also ask if she can write it on a piece of paper for me. She can and does.

I study it carefully and try pronouncing it again.

I still can’t say it exactly right.

But maybe I’m a little closer.

Names Matter

Most of us perk up when we hear our name. We’re pleased when someone remembers our name (and even more so if they pronounce a difficult name correctly). It helps us feel seen. That we are worth their attention.

I don’t get to meet the girl’s mother at the end of our session. I hope she is like the girl’s mother in the book. I hope she teaches her daughter the value of her beautiful name, her unique heritage, and this amazing journey she is on.

I’m grateful that, at least for this day, I get to be a witness to this portion of her journey.

I’ll remember it.

And even if I can’t pronounce her name properly, I’ll remember her. Maybe she’ll remember me as the one that kept trying.

Do people struggle to pronounce your name? How do you feel when someone remembers your name?

Share your thoughts in the comments.

revised from the archives

CAPTCHA Got It Wrong About My Humanity

By LisaNotes June 11, 2026 My stories, Relationships, Shift: One Word 2026, Technology 13 Comments

Choose the Things That Are Fragile

I type in the message I want to leave in the comment box beneath a friend’s blog post.

Then the CAPTCHA appears.

You know how it works. Before I can hit “submit,” I need to prove I am human.

Usually that means identifying things like traffic lights or crosswalks. This time, the challenge throws me.

Choose the things that are fragile.

The screen fills with eight tiny squares.

  • Four contain teacups
  • Four contain motorcycles

I know what they want me to click, even though I don’t think it’s accurate.

I have a very human response alright. But it isn’t what the spam blocker intends.

It isn’t logic. It is fear.

Completing a CAPTCHA challenge to leave a comment online to prove a human

The Birthday Request

My young grandson had been waiting for his birthday for months. He had requested a dirt bike.

That was no surprise. Since he was tiny, he has always been fascinated by any vehicle with wheels. As he got older, he began riding trikes and bikes and motorized Power Wheels with confidence and coordination beyond his age. He’d been a happy passenger on his dad’s dirt bike every opportunity he could get.

And now he was ready for one of his own.

I knew this birthday was coming.
I knew this bike was coming.
But I dreaded it anyway.

Not because I doubted his abilities to ride a motorized bike. Nor did I doubt his parents’ judgment to choose an age-appropriate one.

My fear arose from knowing how fragile a little boy’s body can be.

I tear up when he skins a knee on the concrete after a bicycle wreck. I wince if he runs into something while playing. Add more speed and a bigger machine, and my imagination supplies even more possibilities of danger.

The Fragile Cargo

The birthday arrived.
The dirt bike was given.
The first ride was taken.

And my grandson loved it. Of course he did. And I was excited for him. Truly.

Young rider wearing safety gear while learning to ride a dirt bike.

The bike is designed for beginners and doesn’t go very fast. When he rides, he wears every piece of safety gear imaginable. He rides supervised. He rides carefully.

And he rides with pure joy.

Still, I know he can get hurt. Then again, so can any of us. We can wreck our cars. Miss a step on the stairs. Catch a virus we never saw coming.

Life keeps us aware of all the ways things can break.

That’s why the CAPTCHA stops me.

I know I’m supposed to click only the teacups as the fragile items, not the motorcycles too. But I want to yell back, “ALL these items in the squares are fragile!”

Because a motorcycle is now carrying my fragile boy.

And with it, my fragile heart.

What AI Doesn’t Understand

Maybe I understand CAPTCHA’s question better than it does.

I’ve lived long enough to know that fragility isn’t limited to dainty china teacups.

Bodies are fragile.
Egos are fragile.
Relationships are fragile.

Part of being human means being fragile. AI might mimic our words and our logic and, in its own way, our kindness.

But AI cannot wake up at night and worry about a grandson riding a dirt bike.

It also can’t feel the delight we get watching someone receive a much-wanted birthday present and have it live up to their dreams.

AI does not know what love feels like.

Delicate teacups that symbolize fragility and care.

A Human Choice

As a human being, I can breathe and bleed. I can laugh and cry. And I can bend and break. Every meaningful thing in my life carries the possibility of being broken or lost one day.

We live in fragile bodies with fragile hearts. We take risks every day, whether we’re getting behind the wheel of a car, starting a new relationship, trusting someone with our story.

Or climbing onto a dirt bike.

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Sometimes we get hurt. And sometimes things break. Sometimes we break.

Yet on every morning that we can, we get up and do it again. Move again. Risk again.

And love again. Maybe that’s the real test of humanity: loving even when we know things can break.

To please CAPTCHA and get my comment approved, I click on the 4 teacups. I leave the motorcycles unchecked.

But between you and me, I know the most fragile things aren’t even the teacups.

They are the people.

Let’s keep choosing them.

What fragile thing do you continue to love despite the risks that come with caring deeply?

Share in the comments.

P.S. My One Word this year is Shift. Somewhere between the teacups and the motorcycles, my attention shifted from what was fragile to who was fragile.

More on AI:

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A Little Bit of Everything: 8 Book Recommendations Across Genres

By LisaNotes June 3, 2026 Books I Recommend 44 Comments

“There is no such thing as too many books, just not enough shelves.”

I like to read across a lot of genres, so this month’s recommendations should give you some variety. These eight books touch on psychology and spirituality to history, memoir, and classic fiction. I found something unique and valuable in each one.

I’ve sprinkled in a few quotes as well from each book.

[See previously recommended books here]

NONFICTION

1. 100 Things We’ve Lost to the Internet
by Pamela Paul

Book cover of "100 Things We've Lost to the Internet"

I loved reminiscing through this list of 100 everyday experiences, habits, and connections that we used to have. Many of these things have disappeared in modern life due to the internet, for better or worse (depending on your perspective), such as:

  • Getting lost
  • Losing your ticket (although I can lose my digital ticket too if I forget where I have it on my phone)
  • TV Guide
  • Maps
  • Blind dates
  • Boredom

“People have always spent lots of time on the phone; the difference is that before, we spent it on actual phone calls. Imagine that.”

~ ~ ~

“What did parents in the seventies do when kids were bored in the back seat? Nothing! They let them suck in gas fumes. Torture their siblings. And since it wasn’t actually used for wearing, play with the seatbelt.”

~ ~ ~

“In my childhood view of the world, kids were either born into a fun-loving, full-color World Book Encyclopedia family or consigned to a boring, beige Encyclopedia Britannica family like mine.”

(I was definitely in an Encyclopedia Britannica family—I was fairly old before I could even understand what the entries meant. I was jealous of my friends who had the World Book set. )

2. What Matters Most
Lessons the Dying Teach Us About Living
by Diane Button

Book cover of What Matters Most

This was a beautiful telling of story after story from Diane Button’s work as a death doula with people nearing the end of life.

So, what did she find matters most? Spoiler alert: “People and relationships are the core of what matters most.”

“To die with gratitude, you must learn to live with gratitude. To die with a joyful heart, you must learn to live with a joyful heart. To die surrounded by love, you must live surrounded by love. To die in peace, you must learn to live in peace. To die well, you must learn to live well.”

3. Give and Take 
A Revolutionary Approach to Success
by Adam Grant

Book cover of Give and Take

Who ends up more successful: givers, matchers, or takers? Do the most competitive people end up winning the most?

Adam Grant says no. His research shows that generous people—even when they’re literally giving things away—usually achieve the most extraordinary success. (This is Book # 17 for me from Daniel Pink’s 21 Favorite Books list; you can find the list here. It’s been almost a year since I started, but I’m getting there, slowly but surely….)

“Givers reject the notion that interdependence is weak. Givers are more likely to see interdependence as a source of strength, a way to harness the skills of multiple people for a greater good.”

4. When Things Don’t Go Your Way
Zen Wisdom for Difficult Times
by Haemin Sunim

Book cover of When Things Don't Go Your Way

So many great lessons here, and in short doses. Zen teacher Haemin Sunim writes about how to handle disappointment, uncertainty, and hardship with more peace and acceptance.

“Why are we unhappy? The answer is rather simple. We are unhappy because we can’t find peace with what is. We wish things to be different from what is happening at that moment.”

~ ~ ~

“They say that the chance of laughter is thirty times higher when you are with friends than when you are alone. We laugh only fifteen percent of the time because of something that was truly funny, while the rest of the time we laugh because those around us are laughing.”

~ ~ ~

“Which would you rather have? A thousand new followers, or one new genuine friend?”

5. Blessings and Disasters
A Story of Alabama
by Alexis Okeowo

Book cover of Blessings and Disasters

I learned a lot of new things about my home state from journalist Alexis Okeowo. She writes about Alabama’s complex history on faith, race, politics, community, etc. As with most of America’s history, I walked away with a mixture of both shame and pride.

“The way Alabamians think about themselves is due in great part to the environment. All this abundance and its violent settlement—whoever has more force takes the spoils—have bred an entitlement to the land and a defiance to anything that is in the way.”

~ ~ ~

“Alabama has become known for the holidays it still chooses to recognize (three are in honor of the Confederacy) and those it continues to downplay (Martin Luther King Jr. Day is combined into a joint holiday with Robert E. Lee Day).”

(And just Monday we had our annual state holiday to commemorate Jefferson Davis’ birthday, the former president of the Confederate States. Really???)

~ ~ ~

“White people in the South have the most African ancestry of white people living anywhere in the country.”

6. Psychobabble
Viral Mental Health Myths & the Truths to Set You Free
by Joe Nucci

Book cover of Psychobabble

Fascinating! Joe Nucci is a psychotherapist who challenges a lot of the popular mental health advice that we see circulating on social media and everyday conversations. He writes this book for the layperson so it’s easy to understand.

“Myth #6: “Hurt People Hurt People”
Some hurt people hurt people, but many hurt people go out of their way to never hurt anyone, physically or emotionally. There are many reasons why people who do hurt others take those actions.”

FICTION

7. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain

Book cover of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

It has been a few years since I’ve read this classic novel about Jim and Huck Finn as they travel on the Mississippi River seeking Jim’s freedom and a better life. With each reading, I see a little more of Twain’s criticism of racism and social hypocrisy. I read it for a book club I’m in. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to make the meeting; I always get so much more out of a book through group discussions.

I bounced back and forth between reading and listening. I found the audiobook easier because I could hear the dialects spoken into of deciphering them from the page.

“Turn him loose! he ain’t no slave; he’s as free as any cretur that walks this earth!”

8. To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee

Book cover of To Kill a Mockingbird

I reread this classic for another book club I’m in. I’d forgotten some of the key parts of the story about Scout and the Finch family so I was moved (again) at how Attitcus Finch confronted prejudice in their small Alabama town. And even though I knew what was going to happen in the end, I still cried (again) when it did.

I also swapped between reading and listening this book too (yay for public libraries!). The audio version was narrated by Sissy Spacek, who was phenomenal for every character!

“You’ve got everything to lose from this, Atticus. I mean everything.”
“Do you really think so?” This was Atticus’s dangerous question.
“Do you really think you want to move there, Scout?” Bam, bam, bam, and the checkerboard was swept clean of my men.
“Do you really think that, son? Then read this.”

WHAT I’M READING NOW

  • A Thousand Ways to Die
    The True Cost of Violence on Black Life in America
    by Trymaine Lee
  • I Belong to Me
    A Survivor’s Guide to Recovery and Hope after Religious Trauma
    by Tia Levings
  • Big Time
    A Simple Path to Time Abundance
    by Laura Vanderkam
  • Influence
    The Psychology of Persuasion
    by Robert B. Cialdini
  • Why Won’t You Apologize?
    Healing Big Betrayals and Everyday Hurts
    by Harriet Lerner
  • Anxiety Rx
    by Russell Kennedy
  • The Deliverance of Hope
    The Spiritual Discipline of Writing People on Death Row
    by Wendy Ramage and Jeff Hood

Whatever you’re looking for in a book—practical wisdom, a deeper understanding of human nature, or simply a good story to enjoy—it’s sure to be out there somewhere. There are SO many books to choose from. I hope your latest stack brings you as much joy as my stack has brought me.

Have you read any of these books? Leave a comment with your thoughts—or tell me what book you recommend.

I’m sharing at these linkups

On the Blog – May 2026

By LisaNotes May 30, 2026 Archives No Comments

Here are brief summaries and links to posts on the blog, Lisa notes, from May 2026.

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See previous months’ archives here