This phrase (“what gets scheduled, gets done”) is often mentioned in time management courses. I may have been to a few time management courses in the last 2 decades and honestly,all of the instructors mentioned scheduling. People often complain about over-full diaries, schedule conflicts, that sort of thing. But it’s not often we consider our diaries and our ability to complete specific tasks given our current schedule.
I can hear you asking already – what the hell has this got to do with Brigid, Orlagh? Well…
Ritual preparation
I consider preparing for ritual to be as important, if not more so, than the ritual itself. And that means, I have to schedule the tasks I want to complete beforehand. Which means, I need to plan and schedule…
Now, I know, it’s Samhain coming up, not Imbolc, but really, how well my Imbolc ritual goes depends – partially – how well I manage my Samhain activities. My schedule this time of year is heavy. I have both parental birthdays in November, along with a few other key dates to remember. My maternal Grandad died on the 3rd November, many years ago, with the paternal Grandad following on the 9th December in the same year.
And that’s before I consider work, home, study, life…
OK fine, I need to schedule stuff, but come on
I’ve written before about my most basic Samhain activities, just so people are aware. But I think people underestimate just how much organisation even that much takes. Even a visit to a graveyard, which is an important part of my November activities, needs planning, scheduling and then JFDI-ing. (I mentally tie this to Samhain, although it’s not technically part of the festival)
If I want to do a more in-depth ritual, I need to take other things into account. For Samhain, I go through a more in-depth consideration in this class, but for a brief overview? Well, decide what you want to do, what resources you need to do that, assemble the resources, schedule out the time for the preparation and the ritual and the clean up… It’s like a mini project.
And I know – I have an unholy attraction to project plans and scheduling. My team at work often tells me so. But I also know that planning and scheduling makes success 100 times more likely.
Why are you bothered with this right now?
Well mainly because Samhain is getting closer. It’s already 9 days into October. Besides attending a party on the October bank holiday, I have no plans for Samhain yet. And I know that a good Samhain sets my dreaming and idea work in motion so when Imbolc comes round, I have plenty of seeds to plant for myself.
It might seem like a lot of work, but pursuing this cycle of festivals really helps me get shit done throughout the year. And I’m aware that for the last six months or so, I’ve been lurching from festival to festival, crisis to crisis, etc, etc. So, Samhain is a good time, in my opinion, to reset and restart again. I think any of the festivals are good times to do this, but Samhain is the one that close so…
So, this weekend, I will lay out what needs to get done and when I will do it. And I’ll have a chat with Al to make sure I’m not massively overestimating my own energy levels!!
Here’s a challenge: what do you need to site down and schedule or plan? What are you leaving til the last minute for whatever reason? What needs to change and can you use Samhain as a vehicle for that change?
