I had big plans yesterday. Big plans. Not big as in buy-a-new-car kind of stuff, but big as in knocking out high quantities of stuff on the to-do list. You see, I’d opted to work from home, which meant I wouldn’t have the constant drive-by visits from folks adding to the to-do list. I figured the quiet would let me get caught up. Right?
Wrong.
I got a visitor after all. My inner Flower Child.
It all started innocently enough. I’d already managed to knock out bunches of small stuff before I headed out for my early morning eye exam. I drove to the appointment super psyched because I knew I had an almost clean slate for a steady afternoon of writing without interruptions. I was gonna knock out a crazy word count. I just knew it.
I got to the doc’s office about fifteen minutes early, filled out my paperwork, and settled in to wait.
Well, you can imagine how good I am at sitting still. I whipped out the new iPad mini hubster got me for Christmas and used the time to thumb through my electronic to-be-read shelf…and stumbled onto one of those books.
Uh-huh. Book lovers everywhere know where this is going…
Flower Child Rhenna poked her head up from under her tie-died down comforter and shoved her hip-length blond hair out of her eyes. She pursed her lips, just enough of a grin in the movement to push my inner Drill Sergeant into evasive maneuvers. His shouts were loud enough to give me a headache.
“We’ve got things to do. Schedules to keep.”
“Focus on the list.”
“You want to keep up with that word count don’t you?”
“Pay no attention to her. You’ll end up a slacker.”
Bless his heart. For all his bluster and hunky muscle (‘cause you know damned well any drill sergeant in my head is gonna be hot), he lost the battle.
Yes, I got the basics done, but not one thing beyond what was absolutely critical. And guess who was up way to late last night with said book?
Yep…me and the Flower Child.
Am I upset? Well, not now. Yesterday was an exercise in self-bashing, but today I’ve had time to sleep on it and realize everyone needs a little time to goof off. The trick is sipping the stuff in moderation.
What steers you off the course of good intentions? Is there one behavior you have to monitor more closely than others to keep things from running off the rails? Or do you just go with the flow and trust the universe to keep you on track?
5 Comments
Ashlynn Pearce
January 22, 2014 at 9:10 amOh yeah…happens to me ALL the time. It happened Monday. Course I was feeling a tad off, but I got sucked into a book and that was alls she wrote! lol But then yesterday, I was feeling reeeally bad, but I don’t count those days. 😉
Like you said, we all need those days to just chill. I think without them, we drive ourselves into the ground. Been there, done that, got the stroke to prove it. 😛
Btw…I love your posts. You have such a unique way of saying stuff. I always enjoy it. I’ve haven’t had the pleasure of reading any of you stuff, but I bet it rocks! Keep working, girlie!
Rhenna
January 24, 2014 at 9:57 amAshlynn you’re too sweet! Thank you VERY much.
Marianna Heusler
January 22, 2014 at 12:30 pmI get sucked into television – and not even new programs, but endless reruns – Monk, Alfred Hitchcock, Murder She Wrote. I have a new years resolution – but it was my last new years resolution as well – and as Dr. Phil said – what I’m doing clearly isn’t working.
Rhenna
January 24, 2014 at 9:59 amRe-runs are better than disney episodes. That’s what I end up watching because my kids are glued to all of “tween” series.
CJ Burright
January 24, 2014 at 12:12 pmHey, maybe it’s a flower child moon or something because I got TOTALLY distracted by a book and spent my Saturday (writing catch-up day) reading. Mountains of laundry, dirty floors, dishes everywhere…I barely even noticed. Well, now I do because I have tons of housework to do. But you just gotta love those moments when you find a book you don’t want to put down. It’s a feel good upper for the soul. The book was Divergent by Veronica Roth. Can’t wait to see the movie.