With the holidays and gatherings and school getting out, it’s usually a time to wind down, at least for me. I look forward to a week or so enjoying quiet time alone in the house. I have few, if any, appointments, no scheduled work, and often laze on the couch with a book or watch Netflix.
By this time, I’m usually done planning for the next year. I have my calendar and have penciled in things that I know are recurring, but I forget in the day-to-day activities. The planner I ordered isn’t enough, so I bought another one that isn’t what I’ve used the past few years but will work better.
But the lazing and the planning has been the case. Half of my “quiet time alone in the house” days have appointments out of the house scheduled and some at home work hours. I haven’t cracked open my new planner. What I have been doing is finding items I’ve done without for a long time or things that I need to stock up on, and now I have several delivery dates pending. I’ve also taken a hard right into admin tasks that I haven’t thought of all year. I’ve checked my book sales pages and made notes of what needs to be fixed. Some requires me to send emails to platforms asking for assistance. Others have me reaching out to get help with graphics and illustrations.
So far, my days of winding down and hanging out on the couch with a book are not as readily available as I’m used to. However, getting the admin tasks done is great. Every item crossed off my to-do list brings me an item closer to a “clean plate/empty slate” new year. It’s not what I planned, and certainly not what I’ve tried before, but this year isn’t interested in ending in a usual way.
Perhaps that means that my quiet alone time in the house will be more appreciated. Maybe the prospect of that “clean plate/empty slate” will provide the momentum to, if not tie up and cross off everything, have things in motion to be done. And once everything on that list is taken care of, there will be nothing to keep me from the page. The hard deadline of March 1 for the anthology isn’t something I can pass by without contributing my part. And with my other projects in various states of completion, that wide path to the page will be free from obstacles. Is your year ending in a usual way?
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