I’m reading the book Essentialism* again, because, as you may have noticed, I’ve had quite a lot going on over the past few months. When you’re visible and things are going well, many requests come your way, and it’s among these that I have to sift (unfortunately, most of them are tied to work rather than writing).

I recognise this state. It’s enjoyable, but it’s also how I once ended up burned out (I have a post about this). You can’t do everything**. It’s the kind of thing people often say, but something else entirely to practise.

* A summary of the book: if it’s not a strong yes, it’s a no. But that’s not all. It has to be the right time. And you have to be the right person. This is, however, not a book for no-sayers, but for recovering yes-sayers and people-pleasers.

** I do believe you can do it all, but within a lifetime. This I might write more about at some point: how to live in phases.