Getting Back into the Swing of Things

Geralt via Pixabay

Today, the mood of my house has returned to normal.

Kind of.

After a nice, long, holiday vacation, my husband returned to work today. Though I am always glad to have a full house, I cannot seem to get myself into work mode when everyone is home.  Much as I'd like to, I can't blame anyone except myself. When the mood of the house is "vacation," I just can't seem to get serious about getting work done, at least not for any appreciable length of time.

It's not that I don't get anything done -- I do. I met my goal of finishing the first round of revisions on my novel with one day to spare. I spent a little time in the basement, trying to de-clutter. I did some work on my courses for next semester. I've learned most of my lines for the play I'm in, which is good, since it opens in nine days. Oh, and I celebrated the holidays.

Still, between late starts (sleeping in) and limited motivation (no one else is working), my discipline goes right out the window. I try to take advantage of the quiet times, but my to-do list always seems to be too long for the quiet times to last long enough.

So today, it's back to work -- sort of. My daughter is still home, and I will drop almost anything for the opportunity to hang out with her before she goes back to school, but I am also scheduling my week to be conducive to productivity. Today, I am meeting with my friend and fellow writer for our writing/accountability session and tomorrow, I'll attend a session on class planning. Priming myself with work-related tasks, especially in the morning, sets me up to make the rest of the day more productive, and also "allows" me the freedom to socialize guilt-free. Because I've allotted work time, and used that time to do what I'm supposed to do, I feel as though I've earned the fun time that should be part of vacation.

Meanwhile, Marita and friends, along with the cast of characters from the novel I just finished some revisions on, await. Since there will never be a shortage of projects, whether writing, organization or education-based, I need to keep in mind that there is, indeed, a time for everything, including resting and re-charging.

But now, it's time to kick this new year into gear.

Geralt via Pixabay