I don’t know about you, but I believe the first thing to get me will be time. Because we work at least a month in advance—sometimes more—I never seem to know the current month anymore. People will ask me a scheduling question in “real time,” and I find myself waiting a couple beats to remember what the actual date is. People don’t often know, when they ask in June if we can put something in the August issue that most of August is done—or well on its way to be so—and I’m already headed to September. Usually, I have two to four issues in my head all at once.

Today was a perfect example of how it’s getting to me: I’ve been writing this part of the newsletter in my head for a week, but as I sat down to really write it, I realized what I had to say was for the September issue—because I was already working on September (while also actively thinking about October and December, too). Everything I had to say doesn’t fit the August Deal With It theme. Alas.

These are the “little things” that can sometimes derail us…that, and this weather! I’ve been pretty good about finding ways to shore up my shortcomings—many ideas have come from meeting LKNW folks, both men and women—but this one worries me. Am I creating a path within my brain that I won’t be able to undo at some point? Yes, I always do remember what the date is, but often after feeling embarrassed because someone else notices that I’m decidedly trying to remember what should be simple.

So, I’d like to ask you: what is something that you have to deal with in your work that either doesn’t speak to your natural ability or seems to be a serious challenge—even if only to you? Would you be willing to share it with me for a future issue? Maybe you’ve already found a solution to a problem that keeps someone else up at night. Big or small, don’t worry. I think this type of feature could be very helpful to many people, to our community. I look forward to hearing from you!