It has felt quite a long break this year for Christmas and New Year celebrations. The offices I work with in publicity and publishing have all closed for at least two weeks and, as much as I intended to get ahead in their absence, I've inevitably slipped into my own holiday break.
And I'm not ready to get back into the swing of things!
Just as all the magazines, papers, tv and radio programmes revert to their predictable features on resolutions and self-improvement, I'm feeling less motivated and energised!
Friends have told me of the courses they've signed up for, holidays they've got planned, projects they're determined to complete in the coming months, books they want to read. And I've drawn up a list of my good (and some possibly unrealistic) intentions for the year, as I usually do. We should have hopes and dreams, after all.
But I rarely look back on the year for all that I've achieved and enjoyed, and actually that's been pretty good... I've remained healthy, have spent time with friends and family, interviewed some fascinating creative people, and have read more books in a year than ever before (148 if you're interested).
So perhaps I'll pause before getting back to my emails tomorrow and think about Oliver Burkeman's advice in his book 'Meditations for Mortals'. Instead of compiling endless, and possibly unattainable, 'to do' lists I will think about what I can claim as 'done'. Perhaps that will be my New Year's Resolution!
Thank you for reading.