What’s on the iPod: All I Ever Wanted by The Airborne Toxic Event
It’s been a good week. Since my week started on Tuesday, I was surprised just how much I did in these few days. I completed a rough draft on a bigger project, had conversations with another client, and got some work done on my NaNo project. I’m not attempting to write an entire novel this NaNo, but I’m putting final revisions on something I’ve been laboring over for a while. I’m attempting Faulkner-esque literary fiction, so it requires more attention to detail than a NaNo month allows. Hence the emphasis on revising this month. I’m writing too, but not to meet a quota: just to finish the story the way it needs to end.
I woke up this morning with no earthly clue what to write today. It’s because I’m in the midst of waiting for one project and talking with two other clients about other projects that my focus is off. So I thought today would be a good day to restart my career.
You can do that, you know. Nothing or no one says you can’t simply make today your new first day. Whenever I get behind on something or find myself a little adrift, I call time out, then hit the reset button in my brain. That’s what last weekend was about, and that’s what today will be. It’s my new day.
Why I do this:
It clears my brain. Since May (it will be six months tomorrow since my surgery), I’ve felt like I was out of it. I can’t focus thanks to being more tired than usual, and I wasn’t able to really put myself into work again like before until last month. Even so, the tired feeling didn’t go away. So now that I have most of my energy back, I’m clearing my head.
It redirects my focus. Lately I’ve been scrambling internally from project to project, and from genre to genre. With a fresh(er) start, I’m now sitting down to a clean slate. I can prioritize better if I have no deadlines, but even with deadlines, it’s great to take ten minutes and look at each project again to see where my energies should go.
It gives me back control. My guru would be a little taken aback by hearing me say I need control (we surrender all, including ego), but in business, a little control is necessary. I’m once again in charge of my workload instead of chasing it or rambling about in it.
What I love about a restart is it works for everyone. If you’re brand new to writing, you may be wanting to move ahead, not start again. Don’t let the words fool you — the restart is internal. Think of it as a chance to do a U-turn or take a left in your career direction. Maybe you have more marketing than projects right now. A restart gives you time to really examine whether your marketing efforts are working (or are enough — remember to follow up!).
Where would a career restart work for you?
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