It was all going so well, last time I wrote one of these. That is, I'd got my life under control enough to find time to write a blog post. It’s a measure of organisational state, a bit like having a tidy desk.

June. I was into a nice routine: Busy, but rarely working late and never at weekends. I'd lost nearly a stone in weight since Christmas, going on two or three runs a week, walking more and eating and drinking less. Not rocket science but it takes a concerted effort to consistently consume less than your appetite wants you to.

After that I got busy again. Time has flown by. My son turned two on July 5th, and my Nana (my Dad’s mother) sadly passed away on August 4th. Bowel cancer. Awful. The funeral, up in Stockport, was two weeks later; hopefully not the last time I'll see my aunt, uncle and cousins although we're rarely in touch.

Somehow it’s nearly November. Most but not all of the weight is back on. My skin is pale and blemished. My desk is a mess.

The trouble with me is that when I get into a big project I become sort of absorbed by it. And being self-employed I don't switch off at 6pm. I somehow need to keep the project’s complex wiring diagram in my head while the work is in progress. So it's always there like a big program hogging most of the memory on a slightly underpowered computer. Everything else still works but it's sluggish. Switching apps is unresponsive.

Everything was fine up till about the end of June but in an effort not to burn bridges with existing clients I've had to double-up, managing and developing on the startup business and fitting other projects around it too. The result: late nights, going in on Saturdays to "catch up" and "rewarding" myself with "well deserved" beer and takeaway food.

This works in the short term when you need to get over a hump, but try to sustain it and it quickly becomes a false economy. A late night of intense work is mirrored by a morning of staring blankly at the laptop, trying to kick start your brain chemistry with coffee. Then not sleeping properly the next night. Being a zombie-like husband.

Anyway, today was good. Literally a long day, as the clocks went back this morning. Did no work except for some satisfying physical work in the garden. Went out with the family. We saw some owls, which made Henry happy as he's been a bit obsessed with them since being introduced to them on YouTube.

Back to work tomorrow. Let’s see if I can wrest control of this thing. Twitter and Facebook off, idiot.