Pushing hard, but managing the moments
I just realised that this is my 395th post on this blog - I should probably do something significant for 400 (thinking hats on). Although, it's probably important for me to start this post saying I am overwhelmed at the moment, so I can't begin to think about what that something significant might be.The overwhelm comes from a crazy month, that I shoved launching my new book into as well! Will I never learn to deconflict things and give myself breathing space? It appears the answer is no, I'll never learn.But this series of events has brought balance back into mind for me, and whether I'm missing my tipping points again or not. If you haven't read my post about life balance, it will give you a better idea of what I'm talking about here. My problem is not pulling back on things at the moment, but I might be pushing too hard - and remember that pushing past the tipping point results in face planting!
Am I Pushing too hard?
Let's start with the new book - Write to Launch. The decision to release it on 23 May was completely arbitrary, to a degree. Partly, I picked the date because I will be at TEDxSydney next week (there'll be more on that next week), and talking to the Society of Editors in Tasmania - so it made sense to make it available for those events. But I think the main driver was that it's finished, and I just want to get it moving now. Having said that, I've done nothing in the way of promotion or trying to get it into bookstores; and I stuffed up the timeframes so I can't even do the reduced price launch on Kindle like I had planned. --- Yes, I probably pushed too hard with this. I should have stuck to the planned timeline, rather than moving it forward. I can't backtrack now though, so I'll push through.Facilitation work. There are some unrealistic timelines that I'm working to in the next couple of weeks for some of the facilitation work I'm doing. This would not have been problematic if I didn't go to Wollongong last weekend to catch up with family (that had to happen); if I wasn't going to TEDxSydney next week (planned before most of my deadlines); or decided to publish a book before the end of May (see above). But it's paid work, and given that I now consult and work for myself, paid work is important to have. --- I might have agreed to a deadline that was a little crazy, but that's what work is sometimes.Do Share Inspire. Two podcast interviews about the book came out last week: Write of Your Life and Authors Talk About It. By rights, this should mean that I've gone back into full promotion mode, which was the plan. Maybe I have pulled back in one area, because I haven't given this enough focus or attention. I know the game plan for this book, but I still need to get moving in a few areas I'm avoiding. At the moment though, I don't think there is enough brain space or energy to keep pushing too hard with this - I have a feeling that says something to me that I don't want to acknowledge. --- Pulling back on this, but that might be a good thing.
So what's giving?
If I'm in overwhelm, it means something has to give, and not just Do Share Inspire promotion. Well, when I look at the state of the table I'm sitting at while typing this, I can definitely say that having an organised (and clean) house is definitely something that has given. If it wasn't for Derek at the moment, I think I would be overwhelmed with clutter and dirty dishes.Time for myself is also suffering at the moment - seriously, my trapeze is ready to go and I still haven't hung it and tried it out! Did I mention I bought my own trapeze? It's going to be so much fun, once Derek finishes the shed and I can leave it hung up out there.
But what does it all mean?
This might sound like a negative post, but that really isn't how I feel at the moment. The overwhelm carries some excitement along with it - I am largely overwhelmed for good reasons, it would just be nice to have a few extra days this month. After the first week of June, most of these feelings will be a distant memory.I guess this post is simply to say that the Balance concept is still going well. I'm managing the moments, and finding ways to work through them - even when that means completely reorganising my tasks today because I had no internet until about 2pm! Given the size of my to do list, and the underlying feeling that I'm not going to get it all done - I think my state of mind is pretty good.How are you going as the middle of the year approaches? Are you managing your moments? Or are you feeling a bit off-balance?