It's been a little over a month since I've written but it has felt much, much longer. I've often thought about writing but just haven't made the time. My schedule is rather chaotic and I'm having trouble balancing the things I need to do with the things I want to do. There's a learning curve as I try to figure out how to function with so many things to do on my list. I also need to learn to combat my 'double Gemini' spontaneity: I get very easily distracted. Doing one thing makes me think of another thing, so I start doing that, which leads me to another thing and soon I am working on a dozen things at the same time but really not getting anything finished. Some days I resort to making lists. I generally don't like lists but I think they do help me stay on track -- or at least help me return to the track I started out on.
I think I'm going to have to start making a daily schedule as well. The thought of this horrifies me. I've spent most of my adult life doing what I want when I want so the thought of having a plan feels rather constricting. Lately, though, I've been thinking that I actually do need a bit more structure in my daily life. I need to make some new habits -- mainly so that I can fit in the things I want to do (like writing, yoga, being social) into my day along with the things I need to do (work, house cleaning, grocery shopping).
Both jobs have provided me with more than enough things I need to do in the past month. My jewellery business got off to a great start: I had 4 shows in my first month. One of them wasn't overly successful, two were average and one was great. I've been learning a lot. Unfortunately, I don't have any more shows on my calendar. That's the hard part of this job: booking trunk shows. I have a couple of leads for shows in April, which is great, but nothing between now and then. I obviously need to get out there and talk to some people, which really isn't my forte. But that's kind of what I like about it -- it forces me out of my comfort zone and makes me be a little more outgoing and assertive than I would otherwise be and which I need to be in all aspects of my life.
The jewellery company I represent has a great team and they have tons of support options set up to teach me how to be successful. The great thing is that I can also use this knowledge to apply to my reiki practice. The services & products are completely different but in the end, I have to focus on selling myself and what I do. I'm learning a lot, growing and changing and hoping that it will all lead to success.
My reiki practice is getting off to a slower start. I still don't have any clients. I have been trying but to no avail. I even gave away a whole bunch of free half-hour sessions but none of those people have contacted me yet. So strange. I also went to a networking evening a couple of weeks ago. Networking is *so* out of my comfort zone! I am really not good at small talking to strangers. I ended up having a moment with myself in the ladies room as I seriously considered leaving about 15 minutes after I had arrived. It was so hard for me to put myself out there, introduce myself and talk to all these people! But I stuck it out and ended up meeting some nice people and even got a couple of leads. I will have to continue to go to these kinds of things, as it seems that's how business gets done in this town.
Speaking of this town, we hit our 6-month anniversary a couple of weeks ago. It's hard to believe we've been here that long already but at the same time, we are definitely feeling much more settled. Not that any of us wouldn't move back to our former home in an instant, but it's not so bad here either. I'm even starting to meet some more people and make some friends!
I have also been learning a lot about Ontario divorce laws and procedures. This has been another learning curve and another long, slow process as I try to figure out how it all works and what the best options are. This has lead to some difficult conversations and I need to make some difficult choices. Things are moving slowly but in this case, I think that's probably a good thing.
It has taken me far too long to write this little update. I am obviously out of practice. I will attempt to write more often but for now I need to go shovel some snow and get on with the rest of my day.
