Pre-holiday finalisation

I've just spent all day finalising things for Japan Harvest, the magazine I edit. It feels like I'm back in my "old" working days as an sole Occupational Therapist, where I had to "finish" things before I left for holidays and would find a mountain of stuff to do when I got back.

Difference here is that I have boys and a husband buzzing around in the background (because my office is our dining room), and that I have team members to whom I can off-load a certain amount of the work in my absence. The other difference is email and the Internet. Most of my work is done on the computer and I'll still be able to do a certain amount when I have Internet access in Australia.

But, the question is, "Will I want to?" Probably not. Especially if it pulls me away from other exciting people-events. Maybe if the people-events are boring . . .

And then there is the 15 days where I'll be driving in the Aussie Outback without much hint of  Internet access. I'm ready for a break. Bring it on!

Back to Japan Harvest, I'm excited about how it's going. I've been with the magazine now almost two years, but we've particularly made a lot of progress in the last six months. The new team that is forming is running well. We've got a Mission Statement and Job Descriptions are being written (the Job Description thing was big, so essential for working in a team and working to not step on other's toes or double up work). Processes that formerly were just in people's heads are getting written down and the editorial process is getting more refined. And so on.

It's been a big challenge, and continues to be a challenge, but one that I've been able to get my teeth into and enjoy. I'm looking forward to seeing our current issue in print. We've made some significant changes in how it looks. Our new production editor/designer has been working hard and it's looking great (at least I think so).

But for now I've spent too long at this here computer. Time to go and make my gluts do more than just sit on this seat. Off to the gym, then to make dinner with almost the last remains in the fridge. I think we'll be eating out tomorrow night, our last night before we fly.