Somehow, I whiled away half the day already. I mean, "somehow" = clipping the cat's nails, vacuuming my entire house, getting my drippy faucet fixed, having the maintenance man nail down that front window screen (NO MORE CAT VENTURES), making myself an extremely perfect omelet. So you know, I have actually done a lot of work this morning. Just not the reading/writing kind of work.

Not to worry, as soon as I water the plants, it's time to get down with words. I'm halfway through reading/commenting on a manuscript, with another one waiting, half of Autobiography of Red left to read, SO MANY submissions, and I may have committed to reading both Moby Dick and Consider the Lobster over the next two weeks.

It's okay though, because a thing I have learned about myself over the years is that I like being busy. I like having measurable tasks to do, with outcomes that I can look forward to. I like measuring out my days with segments for different tasks. It helps me concentrate and feel less frantic about the things I have to do, and when I concentrate and feel less frantic, I write more easily. So really, this is all designed with that goal in mind.