Big Changes, Small Steps

Last week was all about the big changes that are coming. I spent hours at my desk and in my office working on things for my new job and still have hours more to go. The state of my office very much reflects the state of my mind right now and, believe it or not, it’s a great state for it to be in.

Will all of the work I did mean that I’ll be done what I need to be done with soon? No, not quite, but it means that I’ve made progress toward what needs to be done and that is what’s important. I’m trying so very much to remind myself that big changes happen in small steps. Sometimes those small steps look like reorganizing the office, which I took another chunk out of last week, and other times it looks like making a mess all over every available surface right after. The good thing about the way that I work is that although it looks like a mess without boundaries, I do have a system for what I’m doing. Each pile has a purpose and each space holds a specific thing or set of things. One thing that has really, really helped me is making sure I stop my work at least ten minutes before I need to end a work session and tidying the piles so I know exactly where I need to pick back up again when I get back. Last work session I wrote across a large notepad “start here” because I didn’t have the energy in the tank left to do much more. Still, it served its purpose, and the last working session worked really well because of it.

Next week I need to pick up from the note I left myself after this last session and hopefully finish this first set of work I had set for myself. I also hope to make some time to journal this week. I’ve found I really need the breathing space journaling offers me. It’s where I can go to play with the supplies I love for my creativity (markers, stickers, washi tape, etc.) while also clearing my mind for my mental health. Funny story, my autocorrect kicked in to change “mental health” to “mental browser” and honestly, I approve. 😁 Yes, I need to clear my mind for either of those descriptive choices this week. I also hope to get to some of my writing projects. I don’t know if that will mean working on my revision or submitting some queries. I also have completely set aside any goal planning, as I’ve talked about lately, and much as I know it’s been a good choice, I don’t know if it’s completely the right choice. I miss the anchor of it, though I know I don’t know where that anchor should be thrown right now. I want to do some thinking on how to have goals without needing to anchor or rather, mapping all the different places I can throw anchor when I need to. It’s a complex thing and one I hope to dedicate some time to this week.

In case you haven’t been told today, you are more than enough.

With you in words, Nikole