“Do you work over the Holidays?”
I don’t. It’s a “lane thing” for me. On a normal working week (or working day), I definitely psych myself into a working lane, by which I mean a narrowly-focused channel that excludes all serious distraction.
Right now I’ve dropped out of that lane. I’m hanging with the fam 500 miles from my work desk. Both banks of the lane are open.
This is not necessarily easy for me. I like being in the lane. But every now and then it’s good to drop the intense and narrow focus and just be a regular person.
That’s my wish for you and every one of us soldiers in the trenches during this Holiday Season. A few extra hours in the sack and a few superfluous calories won’t kill us. I give myself and I give all of us permission to chill with the people we love and get fat for a few days.
Have a great Holiday Season, whatever your persuasion. We’ll get back into the trenches in the New Year!
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Happy Holidays! Enjoy your time. It’s a great time to recharge and reflect.
Definitely educative and insightful nonetheless. Wishing you the best of the festive mood.
Happy New Year, Steven and the Pressfield clan.
Your email is the One I read, regardless of the season.
I’m very grateful for your writing.
May we have countless more reasons to celebrate the New Year!
Happy New Year, 2024!.
Elizabeth
Ciao, from Florence! No lanes for us here, but there is a road back to Rome, as they say!
Happy holidays, one and all.
Grateful.
Happy holidays and a rest. May 2024 see the realization of our hard work and dreams. Best to you Steve and to the community. I’m grateful for Writing Wednesdays.
You too, Jackie!
Thank you, Tolis.
Thank you Steve,
I really needed to read that. I am new at this writing routine and my RESISTANCE is a big ugly hairball (that likes to eat during the holiday). Looking forward to more of your insight and wisdom. Happy New Year.
All my Best
Cassandra
PS. I am enjoying The Dailey Pressfielld, it was one of my Xmas gifts.
Merry Xmas and Happy New Year everyone. I think I’d already dropped out of the lane, I’m embarrassed to say, but thank Steve, it’s good to hear that you’ve eased your foot off the pedal too.
Very best wishes everyone!
Peter
I needed to read that today, thanks for the permission 🙂
Great! Enjoy the holiday. Being at home, there are lags…people watching football, on there phone, etc. Of course I slip away to my computer and continue working on my latest project. Is it work, yes. Does it bring me joy? If you enjoy falling back into my world, it’s like food to me. Picture Dorothy coming out of the cellar of black and white to color in The Wizard of Oz…thats what achieving even a paragraph does for me. Leaving the world of blah..after an
hour or two, I’ll ramble back downstairs, grab a bite of last dinners pie and join the crew…until tomorrow.
Happy Holidays to all. ☮️
Appreciate your example, both in writing and in rest. Happy holidays to you and yours, Steven Pressfield. Thank you for doing what you do – it’s helped me unlock what’s next for me.
Dennis
Amen. And thanks again, Steven. I hope you can stay on target with your blog and your writing for many many years!
Well said, Steve. Keep taking it easy until Jan 2nd! Enjoy your well earned time off.
Love your “lane” comment. It’s nice that you are able to segment your life that way. I, however, am so deep into a manuscript, and am so excited about the story, I couldn’t pull away for more than a few hours. Ah well, writing is a gift and a curse.
Happy Holidays. I look forward to your next book.
Joe
I find it difficult to step away as well, but do see the value.
I have found that if I SNEAK away from my work the break doesn’t provide a significant benefit. But if I deliberately pronounce “NO work” for x length of time, I return to it with renewed vigor. I think the opportunity to look longingly toward my desk rather than longingly AWAY from it is the difference. 🙂 Enjoy your opportunity to desire your work, Steven, and thanks for all you do.
Thanks for writing that! I already feel better about my efforts to balance my obsession to polish my book and get it off to an agent or many agents, perhaps. It’s good to know that someone of your ilk has another lane!
Have a great holiday.
Years ago I was in an Army leadership course in Ft Huachuca, Arizona. Half of the course if the same for all jobs (MOSs, military occupational specialty) and half is specific to one’s particular job. I worked in Signals Intelligence (think Snowden & NSA), but this was 95 before the ubiquity of mobile phones and email. It was the birth of the digital age, and the Army remains firmly entrenched in training the previous war’s TTP (tactics, techniques, procedures).
The most difficult block of instruction (how the Army defines a ‘class’ or ‘subject’) was cryptography. We had to break messages that were in different languages, using all types of pre-computer crypto. We learned 1-1, 1-2, 1-3 (one letter is 1, 2, or 3 letters/numbers), letter frequency distributions in numerous languages (ETNORIAS is the frequency distribution for English in order, most easily remembered by SENORITA). SUCK ON THAT PAT SAJAK!!!
So this block of instruction is about 3-4 weeks. All the students have black rings under their eyes. It is truly a BRUTE cognitive effort. You are looking for one break, one toe-hold to begin to break it wide open. Sometimes that one break could take you a day or two.
Often, I’d be so entrenched into a problem, that I’d take a drink of coffee and it was ice cold. I hadn’t moved in hours. Intense focus and concentration. Super hard, but at the same time–super enthralling as well.
It is Wednesday before Thanksgiving. My brother (a student at UT in Austin) and I’m going to hang with him. In fact, we have tickets to see Dallas play Kansas City on Thanksgiving. I hadn’t seen Alan in 3+ years while I was overseas. I was so excited for this Thanksgiving Day, more than I looked forward to any holiday since I believed in Santa Claus.
Around 1500 Wednesday afternoon, I found my break. It was the hardest problem we’d had at that point. I looked like I had been in a starvation camp. Pasty white (all intelligence is done in basements or windowless (and soulless of course) buildings), rings under my eyes, had the lovely ‘math teacher’ breath of stale coffee & tobacco–and I found it! I was so excited. The one break I needed and the instructor then says, “Alright. Pack it up. Everything in the safe. We are leaving early for the holiday. Happy Thanksgiving!”
I looked up and thought, “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOO!!! We cannot leave now!!”
My visage could have been used as Halloween decorations. I knew I would NEVER remember how I got to where I was 4 days from now. I was totally panicked.
Long set up to say, sometimes it is more comfortable to stay in the lane. That guy, that unhinged person who would have sacrificed seeing family to finish a task, needs to get out of the lane more than anyone.
Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays. Happy New Year.
bsn
Happy Holidays Brian! I wish the best for you. Thank you for the comment.
Same.
Top of the season to everyone!
Till next year.
Delighted to report that I spent time with loved ones, slept in and got a little fat…the last one is because I have cut back on eating and the shrinkage in the tum seems to be permanent. Beautiful Christmas. Looking forward to New Year celebration! Wising all the very best of an upcoming 2024!!!!
Happy holiday dear Steve, happy holiday to all people, and the biggest wish of all is Peace. The day it will prevail is inevitable, I can feel it in science.
I can’t stop 🙁 The urge is strong and the hours I can put in are only a few –I try to find that hour or so every day these demanding (holi)days. I work in my car for a few months now –inexpensive, quiet, warm, and a place to get to immediately, not searching for libraries and losing even the shortest amount of time. I actually work for about 3 or 4 hours every day, it’s just that I must also do the “job” and the other important things so I can’t give all that time to the epic. Especially now, at the middle of the year. But there, even one hour is good. When you are at the level of a crawler you must not stop entirely, I can feel that now.
Paraphrasing Hector of Troy, “one sign is unrivaled, to fight for the greater good of world”
I’m with Heather. And I bet there are more of us who take this as permission to do what we were going to do anyway! 🙂
Looking forward to another year of Writing Wednesdays.
Merry Christmas Maureen! May the new year bring you great wisdom and impressive excellent experiences.
Thanks, Tolis!
Happy holidays and family time, Steve, Diana, and all a y’all!
Thank you so much Joe! Happy travelling, too.
Thank you, I needed this! Callie
Good for you, Mr. P! Happiest New Year to you and everyone on here! Be safe!
Thanks for the permission to do. what I have already done, Steve.
Yesterday, when I was inspired to come back to my project, a historical libretto for an opera, a true story about a woman who saves a Jewish man bound for Auschwitz during World War II, it flowed like Niagra.
May the New Year bring much joy and continued success to you and yours.
(Phyllis) Paullette
I’m so out of the lane I forgot what day it is! Happy holidays Coach to you and all the WW gang. Thanks for the gift of the Daily Pressfield, it’s an amazing piece of work.
Happyhappyhappy holidays to all and a blessed new year!
Happy Nrw Year to everyone ! Eat drink and be grateful !
I think this time of the years is really,really prolific for creativity,I dont know exactly why,but there is a certain magic that is particular to this time of the year.Of course we can balance the time we use,but I really think and experience this time of the year as a rare occasion to better tuning into “other” frequencies.Pure magic.Let’s create 🙂
Blessing to everyone,Thank you Steven
Happy new Year 🙂
A question for the group: Do you write when you’re sick?
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Happy holidays and family time
This blog is a timely exploration of the often overlooked topic of working over the holidays. The author delves into the complexities of balancing professional commitments and personal festivities, providing valuable insights and relatable anecdotes. It’s a comforting read for those navigating the challenges of holiday work, offering a thoughtful perspective on finding a harmonious blend between career and celebration. As we approach the festive season, this blog serves as a reminder that it’s okay to set boundaries and prioritize self-care. Well-written and resonant—thank you for addressing a topic that many can relate to!
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Your post, “Do You Work Over the Holidays?” resonates with the universal experience of balancing intense focus with the need for downtime. By sharing your personal practice of stepping out of the “lane” and embracing the holiday spirit with family, you provide a refreshing perspective on the importance of taking a break from work. This thoughtful approach encourages us to enjoy the present moment and reconnect with loved ones, reminding us that rest is a crucial part of our creative and professional journey. Could you please submit this post to A2Bookmarks Estonia? It would offer valuable insight to Estonian professionals and creatives who are also navigating the balance between work and personal time.
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