Breathing space

3 January 2012

I’ve been given an amazing gift. The gift of time.

From January 2010 to December 2011, I worked 20 hours a week (two 10-hour days) at the International Institute of St. Louis. I had a great administrative job, one that allowed me to pay off all my business debt. At the same time, I was running my business full time and serving on two boards of directors of professional groups. I felt like I was on a treadmill, under constant time pressure.

Last week, my job at the Institute came to an end. I will miss the people with whom I worked and the vibrant, international nature of the workplace. I’ll miss being involved with an organization that serves a vital role in the community and tangibly helps people in need. (But I’ll volunteer at the Institute’s annual Festival of Nations! If you’re in St. Louis, I encourage you join me.)

But oh my goodness, am I glad to reclaim those twenty hours a week! I feel like I now have a little breathing space in which I can not only see more clients but can work on the non-urgent but oh-so-important areas of business, like marketing and social media. The treadmill is slowing down and might even be turned off on the weekends.

Behind the thrill, though, I find myself feeling strangely untethered without all the time pressure and without the structure of those days away from my desk. Part of that is that the end of the year was so (mercifully) quiet. But now that things are starting to get more busy, I can work on creating the structure that I need in my day to make sure that things get done.

I’m sure I’ll chronicle that journey here!

Tagged with: time management