Today's newest anchor says she doesn't love change, but she's ready for the challenge, thanks to her family—and a home office of her own.  

The idea of working from home may seem like reading on a roller coaster. How can a person focus and think? Yet for me, my home office is a little bit of a haven. It's where I feel most creative—and I always do my best work where I feel most comfortable and am surrounded by the people and things I love. My concentration at home is much sharper than it is in my office-office, considering all the distraction that comes with three kids [Ben, 17, Gabe, 15, and Lily, 13], three pets [Jasper, the dog, and two kittens, Sweet Pea and Felipe] and one husband [author, producer and journalist Richard Cohen, who has multiple sclerosis]. I know people who say, "I couldn't possibly work at home. There are too many distractions." I feel just the opposite. It's not surprising that I've always kept my offices at work sort of messy and undecorated. I never want to feel that the office is my focus. My home is my focus.

One of the first decisions I made when renovating my house was to build my home office as the only room on the top floor. It's like my own little tower or the lantern room of a lighthouse. But I don't feel trapped at all because it's essentially all windows and light. I look out onto lawn and driveway, so I can spot the kids when they come home. In a sense, my family's always up there with me--if not physically, then mentally. As a mother, I want to know exactly when that school bus pulls up.

Whatever story I'm working on, I want to be there for my kids and Richard. I'm not necessarily talking about emergencies or something so big. Corny as it sounds, it's the little things, like when the kids want you around. It's my daughter saying, "Do you mind if I make chocolate chip cookies?" or "Mom, can you take a break so we can talk?" Or the time when Gabe, who'd been working really hard in math, came running upstairs to tell me he'd gotten an A. My children are a constant reality check for me. Their little problems are big problems—to them. And I always need to keep that in perspective, rather than think, Well, I'm so important, don't bother me. Self-importance can be a hazard in this industry, and you start to buy the hype. But my family are the first ones to tell me, "Hey, come back to earth." I always want to be grounded that way.

Speaking of hype, did you hear I got a new job? I have all the jitters and concern and excitement you'd expect. But what's most overwhelming—and strange—is to have all this focus on me. I just can't wait till I start the Today show and it becomes a job rather than an event. I have to keep reminding myself—and this is probably true of anybody who gets a new job—why they sought me out in the first place. They hired me to be—me. Anytime I get the jitters, I try to think, Just be yourself. I believe you're almost doomed to fail the minute you try to change who you are or adjust to what you think a job requires. I'm not going to try to be Katie. I'm going to be the best me I can be. It's a little bit disorienting because so much is new. The job is new, and all the people coming into my life are new. We just moved back into our totally renovated home. I preach a good game with my kids about change—how important it is and how healthy it is—but it's also very scary. I'm a Capricorn, so I'm not somebody who really loves change. But sometimes you just need to jump in life. And whatever happens, I'm 52 years old: I can handle it if it doesn't work out. I think about that when I'm in my home office, in my own space, surrounded by pictures of my kids. At the end of the day, that's what really matters. The rest of it, it's a trip you go on, it's a ride. You hope for the best, but it doesn't define you. For me, it never will.—As told to Caroline Howard This Month's guest columnist: Meredith Vieira is the new coanchor of Today and host of the syndicated game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. She lives in Westchester County, NY.