Monday, September 19, 2011

Changing Seasons

What do you do to start a long project?

My first inclination is to clean my office. For some reason getting it in tip-top shape helps my mind to prepare for the coming intense writing season. When I finish one book or major project, I feel the need to deeply clean from the last one. I think it helps me feel the closure and start with a clean slate. The counters have to be empty, the floor clean of all research debris, and my book shelves straightened.

The seasons are changing outside, but also professionally for me. I'm moving from the mad dash of marketing one book into the writing season for the next. The view from my window marks the change from summer to autumn. I'll soon see the glowing gorgeous gold of a Montana fall.
Changing Seasons: Montana's golden glow in the fall.jpeg
But that's not today. Nope. Today I looked at the office and walked out. Lol, today I made a little nest on the couch and started dealing with tiny things that kept getting pushed aside during the heavy travel season I just completed. That season ran from April to this last weekend. About 5 months! Home only a few days in between the next book signing, speaking, or family wedding event kept me in constant "go" mode. So maybe tomorrow I'll clean the office. But today I spent cleaning up little things that pestered me until I finished them. How do you prepare for a new season in your life, work, or the changing seasons on the calendar?

Angie

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy Fall. I just put away my summer clothes. I hate to say goodbye to my beloved Summer.

AngBreidenbach said...

Oh boy do I agree! But I hear we get a warm week before the weather permanently changes in Montana :-) Um, how come it's raining then???
Angie

Anonymous said...

Around here, my seasons are three: Christmas (getting ready for); VBS (getting ready for); and Raffle time (start of school and getting ready for). Those three weave just far enough apart that I can gauge everything else by them. Around the edges of those three, I have the family, run two businesses, and write and market. So my "seasons" pretty much run together. Maybe that's why deep cleaning anything gives me hives. The second I throw something away is the exact milisecond before I needed it.

Reading your post, Angie, makes me yearn for seasons. It really does. I wish there was a break between one thing and the next, but right now, in my life, not so much!

Peace as your seasons change!