Winding down, gearing up

I’m pretty much wrapping up my Civil War woodworking book, and as always happens when I near the end of a very large, time-consuming project, I feel a little directionless….

I’m pretty much wrapping up my Civil War woodworking book, and as always happens when I near the end of a very large, time-consuming project, I feel a little directionless.

That shouldn’t be the case, really, since I have other assignments and projects to move on to. For one thing, I’ve been wanting for several months now to redo my wife’s desk a bit so it can accommodate a slightly larger computer – the opening she has now is about 1” too small for her new PC, and redoing that has been on my list.

Likewise, I did a project article for one of the woodworking magazines last year and several months ago they asked me to come up with another for them, but I just haven’t had time. The project I have in mind is something that will end up in our living room, so I even have a double incentive to get that one rolling.

I also just got a contract for a new woodworking book, and while it’s not quite time to start turning out the projects for that one yet, there’s a lot of preparatory work that needs to be done as I get started on it.

Then there are the 101 little things that need to be done in the shop. As you may recall from my Feb. 10 blog, I haven’t hadn’t been out there for two – now three – weeks, and I need to get things back in order. Not the least of which is dealing with the growing stack of stuff-that-needs-to-be-dealt-with that my wife piles just inside the shop door. Attic, trash or wherever, I have to do something with it.

So I have plenty to do, and I’m eager to do all of it. Well, all but that pile of my wife's deal-with-it stuff. But I just can’t decide what to do first, and as a result I’m finding it difficult to start on any of it.

Is this just something I do when transitioning away from a huge project and getting ready to move on, or do you experience this, too?

Till next time,

A.J.

 A.J. Hamler is the former editor of Woodshop News and Woodcraft Magazine. He's currently a freelance woodworking writer/editor, which is another way of stating self-employed. When he's not writing or in the shop, he enjoys science fiction, gourmet cooking and Civil War reenacting, but not at the same time.