After a long and lovely summer holiday which included a trip to Hawaii for a family wedding – lucky me – I’m finally back at my desk.
Even after six years living in Tasmania, I haven’t quite adjusted to taking a break in January. For all my friends in the Northern Hemisphere, the turn of the year marks that moment when they start to feel energised with new ambitions and resolutions; whereas here it simply marks the start of a month off.
That means when February does roll around, and school goes back at last, it can feel like there’s an awful lot to catch up on.However, one of the joys of our family’s new home-working arrangement is the ability to do some work over the school holidays without having to worry about childcare. I took on a couple of writing and editing projects for CSIRO last month, along with some blog posts for a return client, and while it was a little bit of a scramble to everything done before we headed off to Kaua’i, both projects were fun and interesting.
(It’s also a relief knowing I have a couple of invoices out for payment in February rather than it being a zero-income month!)
February in Tasmania is full of public holidays and long weekends, so Week One of the school term was only three days, and Week Two of term was only four days. It’s always a bit of a stuttering start to the working year, but at the same time those short weeks were a great opportunity to really clear out my inbox, tidy my office, and set some goals for the upcoming year.
When I was finished, I posted a picture of my beautifully clean desk on Instagram with the message ‘Okay 2020, now I’m really ready for you…’
The next day I received three unsolicited emails about potential work projects. Pure coincidence or the power of manifesting? I’m not quite sure, but either way I was delighted.
Long-term readers of my other blog DorkyMum will know that I’m a big fan of Susannah Conway’s Unravelling the Year workbook, which offers a low-pressure opportunity to reflect on the year that has just finished, and consider what you want to achieve in the year ahead. Part of the exercise involves choosing a word to guide you through the year, and after some consideration the word I chose for 2020 was INTENTION.
I’ve written the word on a post-it note and stuck that to my computer monitor so I catch sight of it almost every day, and it has already served as a helpful reminder to be intentional about how I use my time. If my NaNoWriMo exercise in 2019 taught me anything, it’s that the best way to achieve something big is by doing just a little at a time.
Every time I glance at the clock and realise that it’s only ten minutes until I have to go and collect my son from school, the tiny yellow INTENTION post-it note gives me a gentle reminder to use the time well. Although it’s tempting to stop early and scroll through Twitter or have a blether in one of my Facebook writing groups, ten minutes is plenty of time to send one last email or catch up on some filing.
Hopefully that intention will help make 2020 my happiest and most productive year yet.
My work diary is already starting to fill up, but I’m really looking forward to connecting this year with clients both old and new. As ever, if you’re looking for help in writing, editing, or proofreading, please get in touch for a chat.
Ruth Dawkins Freelance Writer 