The most beautiful time of the year is preceded by the busiest time of the year in the entertainment industry, specifically music. October and half of Movember are the final 2 months prior to holiday releases, a popular if not lucrative time of year to release a new album, especially for more recognizable artists whose products are likely to be purchased as stocking stuffers. Or, as is applicable to me, a chance at buying music for myself as inspired by the shopping season.

What does the busiest time of the year mean to me? This year it means:

• Absolutely no vacations whatsoever during October and early November, exept for industry related (business related) events and business development (i.e. CMJ) (which i didn’t attend this year for personal reasons) (see below)

• Spending lots of time with my 17 yr old kitty Cleavis prior to his death while simultaneously getting essential items completed – and then immediately diving into 18 hour work days in order to catch up on missed time. I am still catching up, which is why this blogpost is going up about 12 hours after I wanted to post it

• Commitments: Setting deadlines and keeping them. Showing up. Saying NO to many things that sound awesome, but distract me from a primary purpose: kicking major ass on the job

• Volunteerism & Hobbies: I schedule these, and in doing so feel a sense of purpose which stretches outside of the realm of anything i call “work” or “business.” I volunteer because I want to, and because it gives me a sense of purpose. So do my hobbies. One of my favorite hobbies is photography. Another is Writing, which is why I am purposely participating in Blogher’s NaBloPoMo, as well as NaNoWriMo.  Writing is a beloved hobby, but publishing is scary! This is zen during a busy week.

• Prioritization: I use a 1-3 scale and place a number next to each To Do Item

• To Do Lists – Every morning within the first 30 minutes of waking up I create a To Do List. Items are prioritized (see above) and any item that does not get done moves to the next day. By Friday night all items are to be completed.

• Weekend Assessments: On Saturdays I create a weekend to-do list and it includes personal items such as grocery shopping, working out, and even spending time with friends.

• Calendar Vigilance: I used to suck at this, but when it’s this busy and I’m driven to succeed, there’s no ignoring reality. Without adhering to a well kept calendar and maintaining it, I am L O S T, which makes October and November that much busier, in a more chaotic way. This year I’ve been diligent, and it feels much better

• I wake up at 3 or 4am every morning so I take 20 minute Naps: 2 a day, one in the morning, one in the evening. No longer than 20 minutes, with alarm set.
• More realistic exercise schedule: instead of running every day, I am running 3-4 days a week, max.

• Too much coffee: Can’t even begin to tell you how much coffee I’m drinking. Don’t follow my lead on it unless you want to drink a lot of coffee.

• Turning Off: At night, after crazy long work days creating useful tools & promoting some of my favorite things on the planet (music and this year, a film) I have discovered the value of turning it all off. Part of this process involves walking away from my computer, grabbing a book that has nothing to do with the music business, turning off the Television and turning on Low’s ‘Things We Lost In The Fire.’ Even if my alarm is going off in 3 hours (which is usually the case)

Of course, after Thanksgiving it gets really quiet…..til January. And in that time I hope to stay vigilant, but not working abnormally long days; by finding more time to create space for creating. The list above is written only for October/ November and springtime releases. It will be interesting to publish this post and provide myself with insights into my process during the busiest time of the year versus the rest of the year.

Good luck! Just a few more weeks to go!