Monday Series: A Reminder to Keep Moving

The Pros of Last Week

The design contract I alluded to in the previous post was solidified and has begun. I will now spend somewhere in the ballpark of 20hrs per week on this job. This will obviously affect my day-to-day scheduling but I think it's doable. Hopefully it can force a little more stability.

I woke up by 8ish most days last week. Today I woke at 7:30. Not bad. Slow progress here.

The 4pm exercise routine has continued. I've been doing Yoga with Adriene's Breath Journey since January 1 and I've followed each class with a small meditation. I'm really enjoying this daily yoga/meditation practice. My secret goal is to do it every day for the whole year but if it becomes a burden or stops being useful, I won't force it. 

Here's the rest of the list from last week:

1. Write this post
2. Finish one commission—a comic style piece planned months ago
3. Get more clarity around the design contract
4. Make progress on my Arts & Crafts style pattern—specifically begin drawing the motifs 
5. File Sales Tax for December
6. Determine how much I owe in self-employment taxes and try to figure out how much to pay for Q4
7. Pay Q4 quarterly tax if I can figure out the right number

I didn't make any progress on my Arts & Crafts pattern or on my quarterly/annual taxes. Boo... I will have to face those this week.

The Cons of Last Week

The only one worth mentioning is the storming of the Capitol. Thankfully it was paired with a democratic victory in Georgia. I have to do some research about how to participate in politics this year. I won't be able to contribute financially as much as I have been able to in the past so I'll look for volunteer opportunities. What I lost in money, I gained in scheduling freedom.

The Plan for This Week

Here's what I'm hoping to accomplish:

1. Find a way to incorporate 20hrs of work on the design job
2. Complete 2 milestones for the design job
3. Determine which commission I'm going to tackle next
4. Finish it, if possible
5. Make small progress on the A&C pattern
6. DO. TAXES. (At least the estimated quarterly)

In Conclusion

I've chosen to remain very transactional in this post. I'm having a lot of feelings related to all of the above but I'm trying to be a little better about separating those feelings from my actions. I can be disappointed, outraged, lonely, restless, happy, excited, exasperated, bored, etc. and still continue down my intended path. Meditation has been helping. I'm trying to see the feelings, feel the feelings, and then let them go. As such, I'm trying to give them less screen-time. My hope is that if I let them pass as they float by, they'll lose power. The more neutral I feel, the more I'm able to show up.