I should be writing…

…but I am filling out invitations to my daughter’s birthday party.

I should be editing…

…but I am online searching for my daughter’s costume.

I should be marketing…

…but I am helping my daughter with a school birthday project.

I should be doing my galley edits…

…but this week my daughter’s school has 3 half days.

I should be sleeping…

…but I am doing all the things I didn’t get done when I should have.

I am sure everyone has a particularly crazy time of year. For some it is Thanksgiving or Christmas because they host family gatherings or travel. For some it is a time of year when work is heavy, such as CPAs at tax time.

I suffer from October madness at the end of October/beginning of November.

No matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to get far enough ahead of the rush to not have it be a rush. I thought I was sitting pretty this year—until my galley edits showed up. Always something unexpected! And then I have to readjust my plate-spinning.

Between parties for my daughter’s birthday and Halloween parties and her friends’ birthdays, it seems non-stop. And this year I’m also helping out at the school Halloween party in her classroom. For an introvert like me, this is a very draining time of year.

Still, it is finite, and I can look ahead to November 4th and say, “That’s when the craziness ends.” It’s coming, I just have to forge ahead until I reach it. I make lots of lists and hold myself to strict discipline as I strike things off. No time for naps or Word Scramble now!

What’s your “insane” time of year? Any tricks to get through it?