Free December
In December 2021, I was listening to Jamila Souffrant’s podcast, Journey to Launch. The podcast’s major goal is to assist people on their road to financial freedom. I, of course, have found it useful for other purposes: I ask my students to listen to one episode on the legacies of slavery, sharecropping, and Jim Crow on wealth building (Episode 137); I enjoy the episode with James Clear, author of Atomic Habits (Episode 81); and there are many others. You may ask why I am talking about financial freedom when I’m supposed to be talking about writing. Here’s the thing: the same mindset skills that you need for writing are the same ones you use for a journey to financial freedom, taking care of your body, healing your mind and soul from trauma.
I’d like to hip you to episode 185 – Give Yourself More Credit and Honor the Journey; A Personal Coaching Conversation with Saundra Davis. In this episode, Saundra Davis talks Jamila Souffrant through a reframing of Jamila’s year, with particular attention to Jamila giving herself more credit and understanding her wins. At one point, Davis asks Souffrant what her perfect December would look like. This was an incredibly mind-blowing conversation for me because it forced me to ask myself the same questions: How can I end the year the way I prefer? What would make me feel accomplished and peaceful as I go into the new year?
My answer is, in a word, freedom.
Everyone’s answer to Davis’s question will undoubtedly be different, shaped as they are by the exigencies and circumstances of our lives. Let me introduce you to the concept of my “free December.” It has minimal marking for papers, no large writing projects, no new editing clients (sorry!), all preparation completed for the upcoming Winter Term, and no meetings after the second week. My goal is to have days that can be unplanned, where I can read and do puzzles with reckless abandon, where I have time to talk to people, and make tasty meals for myself.
Practically, this means that I have to plan. In order to minimize my time spent giving students feedback, I had to plan minimal assignments after the November break. I also had to catch up with feedback so that I only had to mark what was due in December. With regard to writing, I had to finish my major writing projects prior to December. This isn’t always possible, but when it is feasible, it means that I have negotiated (and stick to) a deadline no later than December 1. Free December requires that I set boundaries about meetings. I am grateful that the school calendar typically colludes with me to make this happen. Meetings after December 14 seem so unnecessary. The heavy lift is to do my syllabus during the November break or in those first two weeks of December.
As you can see, I have asked myself the tough question: what do I want? Then, I set about making a plan to figure out how to make it happen. It really is that simple. And, quite frankly, it really is that difficult. For some of you, portions of your lives are not completely within your control because you have elder care, spouses, children, travel plans, et cetera. The trick is to plan what you can: as much as is up to you. Consult the people who mean a lot to you. Put up boundaries when necessary. We all owe ourselves that courtesy.
I hope that some of you are able to create a December that works for you! Feel free to tell me what you’ve done!