The toughest part of the job

is the day after. If you've ever had the experience of throwing a successful event, you will understand the feeling I'm having right now. Known generally as 'let down', for me it manifests as a miasma of inability to focus combined with an overwhelming sense that I'll never be able to achieve anything else ever again. There must be a protective mechanism involved during the time leading up to the event itself that allows me to think that as long as I'm steadily ticking items off the to-do list, I'm just fine. Eventually, the big day arrives, the guests have a good time, the trash can is emptied and the day is done. Then what? No more to-do list, and I'm left with a blank slate. The 'Future' looms and the past is not a friend either. I think of all the things I've put aside while preparing for the big event: cooking decent meals, bicep curls, calling friends. How will I ever catch up? And is catching up even the point? The real point is what's next. How to snag a small corner of the looming future and wrangle it into a manageable form? Ah...the to-do list, of course! Start with a simple goal - today I will walk the dog an extra mile. During that walk, allow the mind to wander. Do that for a few days and see what ideas surface. Meanwhile, go to the studio and do the simple tasks. Sweep up, reorganize, just sit. Make yourself ready for the next thing.