The New Normal
Is it Sunday again already? I feel like this is becoming my new normal – get to Sunday and sit down to unpack my experiences from the week before and wonder “what the hell happened?!”
This week flew by even though I only traveled two days last week. I’m settling into a nice rhythm now that the chaos of the last three months is coming to a close. I’m down to one final project (and two more presentations) with the old firm which means I’m starting to get into a new project cycle and waiting to see what my travel will look like. Right now, its a solid mix with three east coast, three west coast, and two flyover projects all closed or about to close.
I’ll also find out this week if I get assigned part-time to a project in my own backyard (like almost literally) that would have me sleeping/eating at home on those days. I’m excited about the possibility, not just for the change of routine but also because this would be outside my normal specialty scope and would allow me to flex skills that have been woefully underutilized in recent years.
Finding use in things that are neglected has been a focus at home lately too. I made two Goodwill donation runs this weekend, sandwiched in between the 27 other errands I methodically ran and appointments I went to in order to play catch up on things at home. I need a weekend to recover from my weekend – either that or I need to do more multitasking on the road.
My errands were crazy – a trip to Neiman Marcus (our local authorized Tumi repair drop off) to drop two bags to be repaired… and as luck would have it, they had an awesome black business tote on sale (I’ve been on the hunt for a nice conservative one for months!). I also spent some time at Nordstrom (using one of my Triple Points Days in the process) as I continue to pick up a few pieces to upgrade my client meeting wardrobe. And I hit two great yoga classes along with the gym (end goal, getting back into one of the 15+ nice suits hanging in the back of my closet so that I don’t continue having to buy all these new clothes) and manage to make dinner to catch up with friends every night since Wednesday. And I filmed some footage for a company I love for their upcoming marketing campaign (which I will of course share here when it’s done). It’s been a good week, even if it felt hectic.
Right now, my living room can barely be navigated due to a sea of boxes and a large old television (taken out of the cabinet so that one of the newer flat screens from my old office could replace it) that I can’t figure out how to get out of my house. I made a run to The Container Store today to grab more Elfa drawer units for my office. That in turn has led to me switching out the drawers in my dressing area for the newer mesh drawers and sending the older wire weave ones into the office. Time consuming, but necessary. I refuse to let clutter be the new normal. I was living with too much of it in the old normal and that can’t continue.
In that vein, I am still trying to get rid of some of the things from the old office – a solid black pop-up tabletop display with shipping case (the kind you can use Velcro graphics on), three brand-new cubicles – that stuff is going to get donated if I don’t get a taker in the next day or two (so if you know a DFW not-for-profit who can use them or anyone else who wants to make me an offer….) and I have several electronic items to trade in to Gazelle. I need all this stuff GONE!
A lot of that stuff will have to wait though… the new week is almost here already. I’ve planned ahead this time – my clothes are laid out and my bag for my mid-week trip is already almost packed. I’ve made up protein balls to get me through my mornings, I’ve prebooked my yoga classes, and most important – I’ve got content ready for Jetsetter’s Homestead for later in the week so that I can get back into my rhythm of talking travel.
I think that’s been one of the most important lessons from all the chaos of the last three months – I do my best when I plan ahead (even if I suck at it when it comes to travel). And I have learned to start working on how to transition purposefully, tears and all
So here’s to getting back to normal. Even if it’s the “new normal” – I can live with that.
xoxo
