It's May now, and the sun is hurrying in and out of view, much to my behest. It's full of potential, a straining tipping point, a pause after the inhale. The crocuses, the daffodils have already been and gone, the only wait now is for the summer months. That time of year where you can truly recharge by doing nothing at all, but letting the sun shine through your pores.
I always like to start by looking at the weather, because it really does seem to dictate how work at home tends to go. A humid grey day? The morning becomes a right-off.
Saying that, though, I've been working on a video project this morning (props to any video editor out there- if you're good at it, let alone enjoy it), and after accidently deleting my progress again and again, throwing caution to the wind and uploading it anyway, discovering a watermark splashed across it. Rookie mistake, I know. Didn't stop me shouting at my laptop- that is an indulgence I grant myself.
It's strange how whole days can seem to pass this way, especially within work where you're setting the deadlines yourself. A whole day of unfortunate mistakes, of ridiculous behaviour. Yes it seems it DOES save automatically now. What a clever laptop. How blessed I am.
It's these times, of course, it's generally best to step away from work altogether. I like going to the park the best, feasting with every sense- the chirping of the birds, the sight of verdant leaves, a swirling canopy above. The feeling of the wind or the sun or the rain. The smell of the earth. Heck, go taste some wild garlic by the roadside.
At the end of the day if you're getting yourself to do any work at all, you've got to appreciate that itself takes energy. It's all well and good when you've got a 10am call- sleep or no sleep, you can pretty much guarantee that your body will get you there.
So for anyone who's doing self-motivated work at the moment, I'm thinking of you. Don't forget to get some sun, when it does appear. You deserve to enjoy its shine.