Sometimes the pendulum swings overwhelmingly away from work and towards home.  A visit to family followed by a laundry mountain; a boy who shocks his parents with a sudden developmental stage needing all of both parents' best parenting efforts; a half-finished garden revamp stalled by days of heavy rain.  All of these, plus the onset of the dark days and long nights, conspire to make the work a mere distraction (and blogging an impossible non-essential which seems too much like work).

Oh, the work is still there.  The work is still (mostly) done, but where is the engagement with it, the mental stimulation, the enjoyment?  Overtaken by nagging low-level worry and More Important Matters.  (And often, by less important matters which refuse to be ignored.)

How to restore the balance?  Well, sometimes the balance simply needs to tip towards home for a while.  There is no 'restoring the balance' because that is the only way we can be.  But when we are ready to burrow into the mountain of Things to Do and truly engage with the work, there is only one way: focus on one thing at a time.

I know, it's been said before.  Many times.  But still we (or at least I) need reminding.  Today is a Client A day, and I will do Client A's work until it is done.  Tomorrow Client B's work will be waiting.  A conscious decision to finish what needs to be done in the hours available results in great things.  (And guilt-free time off afterwards!)