An avalanche of money is coming my way.

Money that arrives in a lump behaves differently from money that arrives weekly. A large invoice lands, the account looks unrecognisable for eleven days, and then there are four quiet months while the next one is chased.

Anyone paid in lumps knows the odd discipline it demands: spreading a good month across the bad ones, and not quite believing the number on the screen.

An avalanche is worth wanting. The people who handle one well are rarely cleverer — they've just been paid this way before and know the shape the year takes afterwards.