Maybe this isn't for you.

It might be just for me, and maybe just for a day or two.

I'm a natural-born planner. I love analyzing systems. I eat up details and burp up joy. I'm so serious about organizing things, that you could say I have the heart of a border collie.

But today, I'm nearing the end (I hope) of my third sickness of 2019. I've had lots of downtime to think and to enjoy the fact that no one could have expected me to accomplish anything this week, what with the chills and fever and all. I actually had some time off from some cool project ideas I've been working on. That led me to wonder why I wanted time off from cool projects, and that led me to the realization that organizing and planning can be overdone. For me. I can get so overwhelmed by that part of a project, that I don't end up with the time or energy to do the rest of it.

I am by no means suggesting that anyone, myself included, should stop thinking things through. I say, go on and follow your heart, but your mind should go, too. Planning and organizing should be part of the whole project. It's one of the rooms of the house, not the sidewalk out front. It should bring up potential challenges and problems, and with that, potential solutions, and maybe even more ideas for the scope of the project. It's important.

Of course, the more stuff you bring up, the more stuff you have to put somewhere, in categories or zones or columns or lists. There needs to be some kind of order that will help you find it all later, so you can build on it and use it. That can be overwhelming! And it can help you forget the essence of the project, and the fun part of making a thing happen.

And that, my friends, can mean that the next time a cool project idea pops into your head (I mean, my head), you (I mean, I) might hold up a hand and say, "No thanks, Cool Project Idea. I can't handle anything overwhelming right now."

So to avoid that particular nonsense, I'm going to take the next couple of days to practice diving in to a project idea or two, without concerning myself too much with order. If notes, drawings, photos, scraps of thoughts, are strewn about, so be it. I'm just going to play with the cool project ideas. I'm going to pretend the research has been done and I already know the answers. If I want to design the costumes with no regard to cost, I will. If I want to stage the new and innovative curtain call before writing the show, I will point to my cat and say, "She's in charge of the timeline." Oh, I'll circle back around and create the order, but not before curiosity and playfulness have had their way. I can't let Potential Overwhelm Syndrome (just made it up) deprive me of Available Fun Condition (also made up).

Take care, take time off, and wash your hands often.

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