It’s Friday. Time for the occasional round-up of the week’s month’s Lessons Learned.

I usually think of December as the hardest month. Which is why I rarely plan anything more for December than hibernation.

But -oof- this past month seems worse than any December ever. I mean, the hard part of February is usually the cabin fever, but then it gets lighter in the morning and stuff starts blooming (at least it does in these parts) and you feel hope returning with all those little bud-lets – and it’s okay.

But not this February.

This February I’ve either been getting sick and recovering from that, or getting bad news and recovering from feeling like Life sucker punched me in the gut.

And it seems to be going around. In almost every group I’m a part of, at least half the people have been going through the most awful stuff. Maybe you’re experiencing it too.

And maybe, like me, you’d find it useful to look back at what the heck just happened before telling February: Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

This month’s lessons learned…

I have good systems. My systems are so good they are drop-everything-and-go-to-a-retreat proof. But they are not common-cold proof. Nor sucker-punch proof. At least not when all three come at me in as many weeks. I don’t know that any system is sucker-punch proof. But right now, I’d settle for something that would just show me what didn’t get done while I was busy catching my breath so I knew how to pick up where I left off. I have some ideas about how to do this that have to do with my current love-affair with checklists. And buffers. We’ll see. But at this moment, things are way too messy for comfort.

Which bring us to: I hate untimely messes. I don’t like doing work that is about cleaning up the past. About “catching up.” About “I’m sorry this is so late.” I’m much more interested in working in the present/future. I know this stuff happens, life happens, sucker-punches happen. But still… Thinking about the floatation devices needed for these occasions.

Which then bring us to: Follow-up/follow-through is my kryptonite. Workin’ on the antidote. It’s all about making finishing easy. And probably more checklists (and more floatation devices).

The clever, the gimmicky, the borderline manipulative? All create administrative headaches. Clean, clear offers = systems bliss. (Surprised I didn’t notice this before.)

When something isn’t working and your Worried Hamster insists you should do something completely different instead, just keep it busy with its critter cruiser (or its dazzle critter carriage if it’s more easily distracted by glitter) and do what you’re already doing, only better.

I’ve also learned that people are very supportive, understanding and forgiving (thank you). And that I’m not the only with a dark and inappropriate sense of humor when it comes to coping with bad news. I’m grateful for a lot of things in the midst of all the yuck this month, but mostly for all the laughter.

And the thing is, it is lighter in the morning and everything is blooming and it will be March in a few days. And we’ll all get a fresh, new spring-timey Do-Over. I love me a clean slate.

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Whatever your experience this month, what have you learned about what you want to leave behind or carry forward into March?

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