If I can go another hour without working on the book, this will be the first day in ages that I haven’t spent any time working on the book. I spent this morning gathering ingredients, and then a couple hours cooking and prepping, and then from five on a bunch of people came over for dinner.
So:
– I had no idea how much time it can take to entertain. I understand why people spend so much on catering now
– That felt really good
– My friends are cool
– Now that it’s over, I’m about half happy I had a good time and relaxed and half overwhelmed with guilt and dread
the key is prep. Getting stuff going in parallel and making sure that no time is wasted. Often I’ll do the whole NASA “T-minus” thing to make sure that everything happens on time and all the different cooking and preperation timelines end up at the same place. Often, its much easier to fill in the schedule backwards.
Oh, and always add in time to wash dishes as you go, if anything, just for the counter space.
Joel