Two days ago, Blake talked about Seasonal Affective Disorder, and ways to alleviate the symptoms, if not the thingy in the brainy that isn’t wired goth. She’s absolutely right, and this time of year, the routine that I use to maintain my days is very valuable at not falling off the event horizon of depression.
The particularly perspicacious one as follows:
When you see a little task that needs to be done, do it, so you can forget about it. By completing the task, you’re closing the loop in your brain of ‘see the task, say to self, “Hey, I need to do X,” then walk past, not doing the task, and remember at two in the morning, ad infinitum’.
The last two years have been holding patterns, waiting for external loops to close, round of surgery and recovery, surgery and lack of recovery… I’ve been managing the stress as well as able, but the calendar shows that there have been month-long gaps as trying to hold everything together and support my Calmer Half meant there were so many unclosed loops that I first lost the ability to write… and then didn’t have anything to say.
As friends have pointed out, there is absolutely no coincidence that two months after the last surgery for a while, the week they ruled he was finally healed enough to start physical therapy… was the week the words finally started coming again.
Even better, remember that you don’t have to close all the loops by yourself. I mean, there was nothing anyone could do to make my love heal faster… but a friend has a project to put up ceiling tiles that look like stamped tin straight out of an 1800’s roof. Due to one disaster after another, the project has been partially done and waiting for free time and brain for almost a year.
This same friend had never seen Tombstone, so I put on my long-term project list: watch Tombstone with her, and stick up ceiling tiles. Yesterday, she had all-day plans fall through… so with a little encouragement, I and another friend showed up a little before high noon. Just knowing we were coming to stick the ceiling up was enough to motivate finding all the scattered parts for the project, and get a little progress on her own. Then we proceeded to have apple cinnamon sourdough muffins, chat about creative stuff (and show off examples), and about life in general, while paying some attention to the actors chewing the scenery… and sticking up ceiling tiles.
We got as far as we could go without moving all the furniture and breaking out Yet More Specialized Tools, to cut the odd angles for a non-square room. Which is not finishing out the project, this stage is done, and the loop of “I need to finish this stage” is closed. While the brain will still have mental horsepower taken up by plotting the next stage, this frees all the mental horsepower wasted on self-recriminations, and the impossible feeling of restarting a project gone cold.
So, yes, pick up that sock. Toss that piece of junk mail. File that paperwork (in fact, with two weeks left in the year, this is an excellent time to open all the unopened mail, and file all the paperwork. That way, when you start your file folders for 2026, you won’t have to sort through near as much paper to figure out where to file things, and have to pull 2025 out near as often.) Really look at the pile of stuff on that counter, and toss the thing you don’t like enough to use, but don’t hate enough to throw away while it’s still useable.
You’ll find it more exhausting than you think you will, because it uses executive function, and a lot of the things you’re avoiding may require emotional processing. Give yourself grace, and you’ll feel better for no longer having to avoid or live around its tiny imposition.
Mad Genius Club 
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