Dear Jewish Fairy Godmother:

I am not a lazy person. I’m a respected astrologer (that’s not an
oxymoron) who donates the proceeds of an annual new year’s talk to a
local homeless shelter. I’ve been doing this for almost 25 years and
the talk gets lots of local coverage and has expanded to a two-day
event plus online sales. But this year I got massacred by the double
holiday and visitors and have not yet begun to research my talk, which
is in ten days!!! I generally give two beautiful handouts, one for what
each planet means in each sign, and a cruise through the calendar
year noting big transits or shifts, eclipses, retrogrades, etc. How can I
do in a week what I normally take almost a month to prepare?

Jammed

 
Dear Jammed:

My advice for you is the same as I would give anyone with a big
project and a fixed deadline: break it into small manageable parts and
focus completely on each one, in order. I don’t know a lot about
astrology, but enough to understand that there are major associations
associated with each of the planets in whichever astrological sign they
are in, as well as important events in the heavens like eclipses or
when a planet changes a sign or goes retrograde (a trick of our
different orbits). Make a list if everything you talk about by category.
Make the grids for the planets and signs. Make countdown clock in
hours. They get started.

 
Allocate a fixed amount of time for prep, to conclude two days before
the first talk. You’ll need the last minute readiness to practice, get
clothing and details like flowers and recording set up all finalized. Then
divvy up the time per category and sit down to work. Unplug the
phone and hide your usual distractions like books and games. Give
yourself regular breaks for coffee/tea and rewards like a phone call
with a friend or a walk. Every time you accomplish a section, enter it
into the pretty handout format and save what you have accomplished.
Step by step, inch by inch, bite by bite. That’s how you’ll get to goal.