When your week goes off the rails...

"Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans." – John Lennon

Last week, I had one of those moments. A valuable client called with a last-minute interpretation request—for a trial—four and a half hours away.  Overnight bag? Thrown together. Snacks? Questionable. Vocabulary prep? New section of the Criminal Code. By the time I got back the next evening, I was exhausted and my beautifully color-coded Google calendar looked more like a suggestion than a schedule. I hadn't planned for nine hours of driving, or for being away from my desk for that long. And let’s just say the rest of the week was one long game of catch-up.

We all have unexpected curveballs—especially in freelance life. Sometimes it's a sudden project; other times, it's your Wi-Fi staging a rebellion. The key isn’t having a perfect plan—it's building in space to recover when plans fall apart. That means having a buffer day, communicating quickly with other clients, and most importantly, not spiraling when your to-do list becomes a to-don't list.

What I learned (again): flexibility is a superpower. Treat interruptions as part of the job—not failures. And give yourself the same grace you'd extend to a friend juggling it all. Because some weeks, success is just showing up—preferably with strong coffee and a forgiving calendar.

"You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf." – Jon Kabat-Zinn

(Taking inspiration from the John/Jons today!)

To your success,

Catharine