I have a schedule for blog posts and email newsletters – once a week something is written and published and then sent out via an email newsletter.
The posts alternate – one is about artificial intelligence, and one is more personal: a place where I write about things that matter to me, and that might matter to other people.
This week, I was scheduled to produce a personal newsletter, and yet the bucket of ideas appeared to have nothing in it.
Despite just having had a week’s holiday, I find myself hard-pressed to summon up enthusiasm for any of my usual routines or any of the work I really should or could be doing.
I think that’s largely to do with having just finished the first phase of a big training project. I’m in a liminal space between something that took a lot of time and energy, and whatever it is that I am going to do next.
And in a liminal space, however small, it’s best not to do too much. In How to Cope With the Liminal Spaces in Our Lives, Brittany Chaffee says that physical liminal spaces are “break rooms, an empty school hallway in midsummer, airports, hotel lobbies, long hallways, empty stadiums, or a mall at 4am. These are the in-between spaces. They represent transformation and transition.”
And in psychological moments of transition, says Chaffee, it’s best to pause and reflect before you move forward.
In that spirit, I am not going to force myself to write a blog post – instead I am pausing and taking stock. Normal service resumes when I cross whatever threshold I am now in!
Main picture: Scarbor Siu, Unsplash
Other things I have written
Life lessons: it starts with potatoes – On the occasion of a big birthday, I shared some hard-won life lessons.
How to get over a slump – There’ll come a time when you just can’t bring yourself to do the things you like to do. Here’s how to get over a slump…
How can I help you make order from chaos?
Join the Safe Hands AI Explorer learning circle!
Sign up for my Sensible Woman’s Guide to AI and Content Creation, which comes out fortnightly.
Or sign up for my personal fortnightly email newsletter In Safe Hands (it’s a place to pause and think about things).
Book a free half hour of my time, here. Find out how I can help with writing, editing, project management, general clear thinking, technical hand holding, or an introduction to AI.
Contact me via email.