When you work with clients, you think about time a lot. Somebody always wants something and they want it as soon as they can get it. Time is intricately intertwined with stress. If you don’t have enough time to finish a project, stress is the inevitable result. But the reality is that you can only do what you can do. Time-management systems and lists help, but there are only 60 minutes in an hour and 24 hours in a day.
It’s easy to get so caught up in when something “should” happen that you fail to enjoy what is happening right in front of your face. For example, in my case, I’m constantly thinking about how I should have my next book done by now. Realistically, I’m working on the index, so it’s very close. I also finished the Web site for it (http://www.happyhoundbook.com if you’re curious). But the book did not go out to proof this week as I’d hoped because of various other distractions. Today, I didn’t even touch the index in fact.
It seems like most people habitually assume they can get a lot more accomplished in a given day than they actually can. I’m really bad about putting 12 things on a list, then getting depressed at the end of the day when I’ve only crossed off one item.
Focusing on what’s hasn’t happened not only makes you feel bad, but it also seems to make it more difficult to move forward. Swamped in negative thoughts, every task starts to evolve into something awful and insurmountable in your mind. To get out of that state, I find it often helps to go outside for a walk in an effort to regain some perspective. (My dogs think it’s a great idea too.)
I just came in from a slushy hound outing and then a soggy journey to the mailbox. My hair is all scraggly and wet from the sloppy snow, but I’ve accepted the fact that the week is over and my book index is not done. Work will still be there on Monday and in the meantime, life is good.