03 October 2006

Sleepless nights

I'm not sleeping well. I go to bed at a sensible time and have no trouble dropping off but then I wake at stupid o'clock and spend a couple of hours tossing and turning before giving up, getting up and brewing up.

Insomnia is not new to me - it's troubled me on and off for many years. The latest bout is down to stress. I feel like I'm juggling too many balls. Yesterday, one of my clients went AWOL and didn't return my calls or voicemails. So I couldn't get on with the job in hand - very frustrating. I used the downtime to catch up on other stuff - I drafted a proposal cum quote for a client, ticked off a few things on my "to do" list, comforted my best friend when she discovered she's probably lost her job and squeezed in an urgent spot of editing for a Dutch client at short notice.

One thing I no longer have to worry about is the housework. Our new Monsieur Mopp is a real find. He's amazingly efficient and I can work in peace while he's here, knowing I will not be interrupted by needless chitchat.

On the work front, I am booked up until at least the end of this month with copywriting gigs. Probably November too. Ideally, I'd like to cut back on the copywriting but practically I can't as it brings in good money. In a perfect world, I would only edit and write features. Right now, I'm commissioning too which is a bit of a headache. It's been a while since I last did any commissioning for publication and I'd forgotten how stressful it can be - finding the right people to craft the right article, then staying on their back until they hand it over, preferably well before deadline.

At least we have a holiday coming up shortly, which we are both looking forward to. I could do with some sunshine and relaxation. My beloved P is not happy that he will have to work during our break though. So the laptop is travelling with us, but we'll try to keep interruptions to a minimum.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Wordsmith
You might want to check out Getting Things Done, both the book, website and do a Google search to see what others say.
I've found it very useful, but only check it out when you've got some time ;-)

Unknown said...

lol, my problem is not being disorganised! I'm a very organised person - I just need less people making demands on me (and before anyone says owt, I'm very good at saying no). And I have too much work on right now. Still, it's better than no work... :)

Anonymous said...

I can vouch for Wordsmith's organisational prowess - she's a wiz!

I hope you both have a fantastic hol, get fully refreshed and do all the loin-girding stuff ready to attack the stresses and strains when you get back ;)

Don't forget to yell me on yahell - I'm looking forward to hearing from you!