Wednesday, December 05, 2007

End-of-Year Ramp-Up

Here I sit, in the peaceful glow of my Christmas tree (with some mellow B. B. King holiday tunes playing in the background), checking and re-checking my schedule and task list for the final weeks of 2007. During my short time back to work after an unexpected break, I've managed to sign up for a boatload of toil that's blowing my plans for a slower-paced, recovery-focused year's end. I'm not complaining, though. The financial boost will be worth any December frenzy I've created for myself. And it feels good to fully re-engage the old noggin.

My complete re-entry into the land of the active began last Saturday when I audited the Editorial Freelancers Association book proposal workshop. It was the first time I'd spent more than an hour or two away from home (wearing non-elastic-waisted pants! and cute street shoes!) in 6 weeks. I went partly to represent EFA/assess the day's success and partly to reintroduce myself to normal activity before a busy week. I'm feeling strong and doing great, but I still get sore and definitely experience sensory overload out in the world. Six weeks is a long time to be at home, mostly still, and fairly quiet.

Anyhoo, the workshop went well. I enjoyed being out and being there. The basic content wasn't new for me, but I didn't expect it to be (it definitely did cover the info bases for its intended audience very well). I still got a lot out of it, though. Namely, a full page of strategy notes for a pet personal project I focused on in relation to the course content. My ideas sprang directly from the instructors' many BTDT insights into the adult nonfiction industry (which, see my blog description, is not my niche). Inspiration is always great!

I think I'm ready to face the rest of the workweek now. And, well, I'm sure that the rest of the work year will take care of itself.

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