You may have noticed some slacking on my part lately, and trust me, you aren’t the only one.

I started a new job last week. It is in a department I’ve worked at part-time through my master’s degree and afterwards, so it was not a complete unknown. As I’ve written about before, the position is a huge step up for me financially and professionally, even if it is taking my career in an unexpected direction.

The worst part is that the person I am replacing was a disorganized pack rat. I literally spent the whole week just cleaning up and re-arranging the office. I threw out four huge trash bags of paper work (sent to recycling, of course). Most of it consisted of manuals to equipment we don’t have anymore, and/or software instructions from 2008 or earlier. The really important paperwork I must save accounted for less than one file drawer by the time I was done.

*thud*

I took the week to just get acclimated to the new lifestyle. It’s not really a change in hours or location, but it’s a huge change in responsibilities. A friend of mine pointed out that I should not put too much pressure on myself during the adjustment period, and she was wise to say so and I’m glad I followed her advice.

BUT.

To keep my writing career going, I need to get back in the saddle. My office at work is straightened out, I’ve got my to-do list sitting on my desk, and I’ve talked to my staff about expectations/plans/the future. Now I can turn back to working on my novels, getting ready for edits, and self-publishing that A/B/O story I’ve got sitting on the back burner.

2013 was a slow starter but I think is finally leading up into a spectacular 2014!