I'm sure that most of you have heard the above saying somewhere or another, possibly in the workplace or from a well-meaning university lecturer many moons ago...
Here's the rub: For me, this saying is completely fitting. And not just in my working or
academic life either. I've mentioned before that I'm not a natural caterer or party host. Bitter experience has taught me that if I want my social gatherings to be a success, it pays to treat them a little like a work project, i.e with lots of advance planning.
And so I find myself worn out but happy just after 11pm on the 23rd of December, having thrown together my 'easy' pear and vodka trifle, parboiled and frozen my tats and blanched my carrots and parsnips in preparation for Christmas day. This evening I have also fired off a number of emails to work clients, just to ensure that they have everything they expect from me prior to the holidays - as well as some ideas to help us all get off to a great start in January.
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| Parboiled tats ready for the freezer |
I promise you now that this is not some sort of smug "aren't I so organised" boast. It's taken me almost 40 years to be honest with myself about my strengths and weaknesses. Leaving things until the very last minute falls into the latter category and many social events or work projects that should have been enjoyable have ended up being terribly stressful instead.
So, because I know that my dear Mum is arriving for Christmas tomorrow afternoon and because I want to enjoy our afternoon and evening together with the children, I've tried my utmost to get ahead of the game today. (Check out this link for ideas if you'd like to do the same.) There are still things left on my to do list - of course there are. But with the main chores out of the way, I can look forward to the day ahead tomorrow instead of lying in bed tonight with what I believe is known as 'helicopter head'.
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