“What
time management?” I asked this as I rushed around like a headless
chicken.
“Dear,
you have to stop and take a deep, cleansing breath,” the muse said
as she looked at me over her horn rimmed spectacles. I have no idea
where she got them, nor do I care, right now, but truth be told she
looks like an eccentric old biddy. Would I say this out loud? Not a
chance; I loved my life as hectic as it seems to be. And was she now
into meditation or yoga, I wondered? She seemed spectacularly serene
amidst my running, fluttering and flapping.
“I
have to order next month’s movies and update the list of books I
currently have on the system and do the housework and garden and
STILL find time to write three novels this year and edit an
anthology!”
“Spreading
yourself a little thin dear? Crazy does not look good on you, you
know.”
I
realised that they would soon be scraping me off the walls with a
spatula if I didn’t take the time to set up some sort of time
schedule. I envisioned brawny nurses dragging me away in a straight
jacket. No, that would certainly not do! Besides which I was getting
cranky and angry at everything. The prime example being when I got to
work on Monday and found that one of my employees had decided that
playing with a candle at the ripe age of 21 was certainly a fun thing
to do. More fun could be had if you dripped the hot wax down the
toilet bowl and never cleaned it. Enter me! My head explodes and
wraps itself around the cell phone were it sits sending the following
message: “Who the &*((^ threw hot wax down the toilet bowl,
come in and clean it on the double! Who do you think I am? Your
maid?”
“Crazy
is as crazy does,” said the serene muse.
I
was tempted to throw a few choice words at her, but realised that I
would never be able to break through her calm facade. I turned on my
laptop, opened Excel and made a spreadsheet in which I spread myself
around thinly. All that remained was to see if I could stick to it.
I’m not known for my planning and when the muse shows up everything
goes to hell anyway and I have to follow her down the yellow brick
road.
Wish
me luck, maybe just maybe I might be able to manage my time better in
the future!
Vanessa Wright
She
has her own blog at http://iread1966.wordpress.com,
appropriately named Humouring the dark, where the muse has captured
many readers’ attention and a book about the character is in the
offing. She is also active on Facebook and Twitter and is a member of
a writing group. She leads her own book club and is a true
bookaholic. Writing has always been her passion, however the timing
always seemed incorrect as daily life interrupted more frequently
than not. Now, she has decided to go big or go home.
