Another weekend has passed, and again it was characterized by working too much and a general lack of sleep. I did attend a few Magic events, and will post an after-action report, probably tomorrow.

I definitely feel the need to put some time aside in order to rest and re-focus. Not only have I been writing less, I have also been skipping on exercise. I’m still watching what I eat, but my weight loss has not been as dramatic in the last week or so as it was in the first month I started keeping track.

Q4 is looming large on the horizon, and my fear is that weeks like these will be the norm rather than the exception. I hope that fear is unfounded, and I can restore the balance I’ve held previously. This week I will be doing my utmost to refocus my efforts. I thank you all for your patience and attention, and look forward to sharing more interesting and fun things with you in the future.

Things have been pretty rough at the dayjob this week. And it’s not even Q4 yet.

The good news is I work with fantastic people on an adept, agile team, and everybody’s dedicated to getting the job done right. I’ve learned to take Scotty’s advice, and pad my projections so that, if I do actually get everything working on the first go, I make us look like miracle workers. I also may not have all of the answers, but I’m dedicated to finding them, and what I lack in deep knowledge of the programming craft I try to make up for in tenacity. I’m pretty stubborn under most circumstances, and when it comes to this stuff I refuse to give up.

The bad news is little time is left after all that dogged determination for things like writing, or games, or sleep. Part of me wonders if I might be working too hard. I remind myself that it will be worth it in the long run, that the dayjob is supporting my family and allowing me future freedom to do those more enjoyable things, and not every week will be like this week.

At least, I hope not. Q4 is a scary prospect at this point. But one day at a time, right?

This weekend was a rough one.

I know it’s my own fault for volunteering to work, and on unfamiliar technologies for a larger, high-profile client no less. I managed to complete the task, but I know more changes are coming today so I suspect pressure will still be on for me to perform.

On top of that, I may be fighting off the apparent cold my wife has.

No writing got accomplished over the weekend, so I’ll try this week to make up for lost time. And I’m sure I can work some sleep into the schedule, somewhere, somehow.

Hope you all have a good week.

I have some advice.

Celebrate the little victories.

A good review of your work.

A ray of sunshine.

A victory in a game you did not expect.

Getting the last bit of Nutella out of the jar with your finger.

A purring cat.

Seeing an adorable woodland creature not get hit by a car.

Something extra in your paycheck.

Lunch outdoors with friends.

A pat on the shoulder from a trusted advisor.

A drink on the house.

An unexpected, unrequested hug and kiss from a loved one.

Free food.

What do you consider little victories? Leave a comment, and tell me.

My time management has been pretty borked this week.

Things at the dayjob refuse to stay dead, I’m trying to get a moving date set up, and other minor things are messing with my schedule. I’ve been doing what I can to manage my distractions, but this week has seen me failing more than succeeding.

This does happen, more often than I’d like to admit, and I know in the end I’m only hurting my own efforts. But it isn’t the end of the world, and right now I’m doing my best to remind myself of that.

Even if I continue to get bandied about by a short attention span, I can make next week better. Get out more. Do more exercise. Write blog posts in advance. That sort of thing.

Meantime, be excellent to one another. I’ll be over here, quietly doing my best to not freak out.