Since it was pouring rain this morning, I gave myself permission to go back home to work after dropping the kids off at camp rather than go to my favorite coffee house, where I am always much more productive.
“I can work effectively from home,” I told myself.
This was, of course, a lie that I didn’t believe for a second.
Nevertheless, I went home and here I remain. In the last oh, two-and-a-half hours or so, I’ve managed to do a good fifteen minutes’ worth of work. Here’s what else I’ve done:
1. Checked my e-mail ten times;
2. Ordered books from e-Harlequin;
3. Subscribed to discounted magazines from Amazon;
4. Repaired my brand new umbrella, the tip of which I slammed in the car door this morning;
5. Posted questions to the AskAnAuthorAll loop;
6. Eaten a snack;
7. Made two cups of tea;
8. Researched vacation options;
9. Called my husband to tell him I was wasting time; and
and … and…
My God. Is that REALLY all I’ve done this morning?
Sadly, yes.
Now I’m writing this blog rather than work. Pitiful.
I always get into time-wasting trouble between books. I turned in the manuscript for Eric Warner’s story, Road to Seduction (Harlequin/Kimani Press—February (I think!) 2009) in the middle of May, and now, in theory, I’m “researching” the next romance because it’s not about lawyers and I truly don’t know anything about this topic. What I’m doing in practice, though, is, say it with me … wasting time. The book isn’t due until September 15, which seems really far away, and that isn’t helping.
What do they say about wasting time? The more you have, the more you waste? I think that’s right. But here’s the corollary to that rule: when you have a lot of time, something will unexpectedly happen to snatch it all away from you. So I figure that a big fat revision letter is now FedEx-ing its way to me and will soon stop me from wasting time.
That’s my theory, anyway.
Do any of you out there (I can hear you breathing!) waste valuable writing time? Please tell me I’m not the only slacker.
Hi Ann
You are talking to the Queen of Wasted Time. I can spend hours and hours doing. . .um. . .research. You never know when you’re going to need to know exactly how many games of Mah Jong or Spider Solitaire you have to play before you win 3 in a row. That information could come in very useful in a book some day.
One of my best/worst time wasters is watching American Justice or Cold Case on A&E. It’s the only daytime television I watch, and again - you just never know when something you learn there will come in handy. So while it *might* seem like I’m wasting time, I’m really not. I’m “researching”.
by Laura Drewry June 4th, 2008 at 11:16 amI have no comment, just insane laughter…
by Caroline June 4th, 2008 at 11:26 amLaura, I do think a certain amount of “playing” is necessary to keep those creative juices flowing, but that’s not what I was doing this morning.
Alas.
Caroline, so glad I could amuse you with my sloth and laziness.
by ann June 4th, 2008 at 11:55 amAlong those lines I feel the need to point out that playing Freecell is not wasting time–it is important unwinding, necessary to the flow of creativity.
by Lori Devoti June 4th, 2008 at 4:41 pmAnd, hey, look at you hanging out with the NY Times Bestsellers at RT!
Lori, I have resisted the lure of the computer game thus far, although I’m not sure how.
And, excuse me, but WHY are you just now seeing those pix? Am I to understand that you don’t stop by my blog first thing every morning???
by ann June 4th, 2008 at 5:47 pmThe Internet is my biggest downfall. That’s why I have to go out and work on my Alphasmart. Even when I go to the library and find a quiet corner, I always seem to make it over to the computers to check my e-mail. It’s a sickness. I need help!!!
by Chicki Brown June 5th, 2008 at 4:56 amChicki, I need help, too. Because here’s the thing: who the %#@!! do I think is going to e-mail me?
Oprah??? Barack???
What would happen if I didn’t check my e-mail every ten seconds? NOTHING!
But I still check it all the time. ALL the time.
Sad, sad, sad.
by ann June 5th, 2008 at 11:24 amGuilty….Guilty….Guilty
S’all I’m saying
by Amie Stuart June 5th, 2008 at 5:08 pmAmie, looks like we all need to link hands and hang our heads in shame. Seriously.
by ann June 5th, 2008 at 6:39 pmAnn, you pretty much described my writing day perfectly, except I probably have more snacks!
by Phyllis W. June 8th, 2008 at 7:27 amThanks for stopping by, Phyllis! If I’d posted the blog in the afternoon instead of the morning, you’d have seen a higher snack count for me, no doubt.
by ann June 8th, 2008 at 9:20 amI can truly say that I get more writing done when I’m working full time than I did when I wrote “full time”, so I’m a believer in the “Time: The More You Have, The More You Waste” theory.
by Bettye Griffin June 9th, 2008 at 12:08 pmBettye, I think that lack of time really makes a person focus. There’s no time to waste, so you don’t!
by ann June 10th, 2008 at 6:07 pm