The End of the Year

I am officially finished with all of my full-time job responsibilities for the next 12 days, for the month, for the year, and for the decade! I have from now until January 2nd to do my regular Winter Break things - a bit of cleaning, some last-minute gift shopping, packing, traveling, and resting far away from the things that I "have" to do. It is not quite enough time to become completely bored with my own company, but it is a change from the day-to-day routine. Today is my first day of break, and I have one commitment and that is all! My schedule is pretty empty this time around, and that's a great sight to see in my planner.

This has been an interesting year on many fronts. My health has been the biggest concern of mine for most of the year, culminating in the surprise removal of my gallbladder and a related procedure immediately following that surgery. I have been feeling much better - less fatigued with more interest in things - since that troublesome organ was removed. I'm hoping that this change in my body will change many things in my mental health status as well as in my interest in things music therapy related. Time will tell.

I have made some strides in my music therapy interests as well. I now have two CMTE courses available for music therapists. I've started a student-focused webinar series, and I'm getting ready to launch another CMTE course. Some of my files on Teachers Pay Teachers have sold (this is a labor of love - I get very little money from these files, but I LOVE creating them!!), and people follow my social media accounts on several different platforms. I'm almost finished with my most recent book, and my subscription service is up and running! I feel like I managed to do lots on this particular part-time interest this year.

The year is almost over, and I am into planning for 2020 full time! I have lots of dreams and plans and wishes and hopes that I am starting to organize into more formal versions of all those processes and systems. I am thinking long-term and that always has short-term consequences.

For just today, I want to make some file folders for my exhibit in April, clean a bit of the floors, put away my laundry, pack for my trip, and replace a valve on a running toilet. I will try to rest a bit as well as work a bit on chores and fun stuff. I will talk to my father at least twice today - he likes to call as he goes to breakfast and then later to see what's happening - and possibly to my sister as well. I need to finish up some gift ideas and get my closet organization started. I don't think that I have any errands that I have to do outside of my home, but I have the luxury of just doing what I want to do when I want to do it - I have my repaired car back from the shop as well!! Hooray!

So, my music therapy planning for today includes a list of file folders to make for my exhibit hall, attending an online meeting for a music therapy organization, and then lots of non-MT tasks. I'll be using my project planner to track the file folder inventory and my regular planner for keeping track of all of the other stuff that I want to do.

I'm sinking into planner mode, so I might as well embrace it. What types of planning systems do you use to coordinate your music therapy lives??