Tuesday, April 27, 2010

W is for Ways I Waste Time

I don't want to waste too much of your time, so I'll only list ten of my favorites:

1. Search the library catalog for books I want to read -- place them on Hold, even though I already have a mile-high pile of books next to my favorite reading chair.

2. Watch my tulips. They're hardly ever doing anything interesting, but you never know.

3. Search for a recipe online -- specifically one that uses leftover turkey, peas, and celery.

4. Take everything out of the hall closet, then put it all back. I guess that's a lot like digging holes and then filling them in again. Emptying the hall closet, however, is easier, and I can do it without getting wet when it's raining.

5. Sit in front of the computer and stare at a blank Word document.

6. Rewrite my To Do List.

7. Dust the mini-blinds.

8. Read a few of the posts, articles, group digests, and newsletters I've stored in folders.

9. Think about writing query letters and preparing submissions. Add item to my To Do List.

10. Watch television. Tuesday: American Idol, Dancing With the Stars, Glee, Lost, V -- Thank goodness I have a DVR!

23 comments:

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

A wondeful post most enjoyable to read.
Have fun,

Yvonne.

Mason Canyon said...

I seem to do #6 over and over again. I think #2 could be relaxing. Fun post.

Mason
Thoughts in Progress

Sugar said...

I guess great minds Do think alike! lol.. I blogged about wasting time also! :)

Linda L. Henk said...

I've enjoyed A-W and I think you should "waste" more time repeating a second round of daily A-Z. I'm hooked and don't want it to stop. Fun read today.

Natasha said...

You have given me ideas. Sitting and watching the plants - how did I never think of that!

~ Rayna

Carol Kilgore said...

Watch your tulips . . . I laughed out loud. Out my writing window, I watch the oak tree.

Ann said...

The tulip watching and the hall closet really resonated with me. Still chuckling.

Jane Kennedy Sutton said...

Oh my, I'm afraid my "W" list would be endless! Your #5 might be #1 on my list, though.

Elspeth Futcher said...

Excellent list, Patricia, and strangely enough, my tulips don't do much either. But I keep an eye on them anyway because you never know.

Patricia Stoltey said...

I'm so glad to see I'm not alone. And when I checked the tulips this morning, they were still just hanging out. Same for the African violets in the living room.

Linda -- the A to Z blog challenge has been so much fun it is kind of tempting to do it over again. I'm already wondering what I'm going to blog about next month.

And be sure to stop by tomorrow, everyone -- I have a special post for "X" -- another bit of excellent timing.

Kaye Wilkinson Barley - Meanderings and Muses said...

This was a hoot.

I do 6 a lot, but none of them sound as fun as 2!

Raquel Byrnes said...

Love your last one...I do that. My favorite way to waste time is to webcrawl...cool sites, play bit of games...look at a 360 degree tour of the Great Wall of China...you know, "research".

Unknown said...

Thanks for some new suggestions for wasting time. I'll add them to my own to-do list -- except for maybe the closet bit.

Have to tell you my mother ran away from home (to the big city of Great Falls) so she wouldn't have to clean out the closets every Saturday. (I think she saw something besides the dust bunnies in there.)

Ann Best said...

If it weren't for the DVR, I'd waste even more time than I already do. Love your list. It's a great read. And I'm also intrigued by Kay's comment above. The dust bunnies sounds like the beginning of a spooky/terrifying/intriguing story.

Anonymous said...

This was fun to read. I've rewritten my ToDo List and realized I'm wasting my time. I'd be better off rearranging a pencil box or my sock drawer.

Stephen Tremp

Roland D. Yeomans said...

Each breath you take is never wasted, Patricia. You're a bright woman. And whatever experience you are living will teach you something -- even if you do not realize it at the time.

Have a healing mid-week,Roland

Jemi Fraser said...

Wasting time can be fun! But I'd do almost anything to avoid cleaning my mini-blinds :)

Christine said...

Love the list! So can relate! Love the Dancing with the Stars line.. so with you on that one!

Anonymous said...

You call it wasting time, I call it a little relaxation :)

Karen Jones Gowen said...

Watching tulips counts as daydreaming. An essential writer activity, so no time wasted there!!

Talli Roland said...

I have become an expert at staring out the window. I can stare for minutes, hours even, without moving my eyeballs an inch in either direction. That's a valuable skill for a writer, right?

Patricia Stoltey said...

I could stare out the window for hours without moving my eyeballs -- we call that thinking (or writing in our heads).

joe doaks-Author said...

You have some interesting and creative time wasters. I needed some new ones, and this post will serve nicely. Are royalties due on these, or can I just steal them???

Best Wishes, Galen.