I'm teaching a time management class right now for writers. It's lots of fun figuring out our goals for the year, calculating (read “guesstimating”) how much time it will take for each goal, and plotting it all out on an annual calendar. (If you're interested in learning more, see my Classes page. I teach this every January.)
One of my goals for June is to clean and organize my office. I know I have files I don't need anymore. And much as I'd like to read everything that comes my way, I have way too many magazines that I'm just never going to have time to read. When my office started reminding me of the teasers for shows on hoarders (I could barely get to my desk between piles of books and papers), I knew it was time to make a change.
Why June and not now? Or spring? I have a major goal that I am working on right now: to have my second superhero novel ready for WonderCon in April. I'll have a table in the Small Press area to sell and autograph books and, since it's a comic book convention, it would be great to have two superhero books there instead of one. Then I'll be at another comic book convention in May in Michigan – Cherry Capitol Comic Con. So the earliest I can think about cleaning is June.
[Note: If you want to know more about when and where I'll be signing books, sign up for my newsletter at the top right of this page. I'll add an Events page here as soon as I have time. :)]
All that being said, John had to work on Saturday, and I woke up with a rare bug. The Cleaning Bug. I hardly ever get sick like this, so I thought the best thing to do was to let it take its course. And it's a good thing I did! Not only did I dust and move some things around in the living room and bedroom, but I started going through a pile of papers on my office floor to put them away.
I was surprised by how much of it I threw away, due to the Cleaning Bug, so I went through another pile, and another. Then I tackled a box, and another box, and another box! If I'd known how different my office would look once the bug had run its course, I would've taken before and after pictures! (I'm not done going through boxes and tossing things, but there is already a huge difference.) I am sooo relaxed and happy to be sitting at my desk again! When I took out four boxes of papers to the recycling bin, I had to wait and throw one away after the garbage man comes because I'd filled up the bin!
It is GREAT to get sick like that sometimes! I kinda wish I caught that bug more often. Now hopefully in June, when my calendar says I'll be cleaning my office, I'll actually be organizing it better so that work goes even more smoothly. I almost can't wait!
What about you? Do you get the Cleaning Bug very often? Is it usually in the spring, or does it hit unexpectedly?
