When I came back from Naples and Rome mid-December, I found myself swept into a three week holiday spin of making beauty and coziness for the family. I don’t regret the time I invest in thoughtfulness. Work really is a parallel universe and every year convinces me more of how important it is to know when to close my office door, and keep it closed. The holidays are one of those times.

The stark bareness of January is another matter.

I spent two days gutting my office and throwing out anything I don’t need, wrapping up loose ends, and setting a trajectory for 2015. So here I am at my nearly clean desk, staring out the window at a thick white frost covering the hedge, happy that the clutter of Christmas decorations (and last year’s professional defeats and victories) are boxed and filed for good. Like the bare white frost on the hedge is my mind approaching this new year. I don’t make resolutions, I purge. Rather than add, I subtract. Like so many other burdens I could just let go.

January is quite the time for it.