Compared to the previous day’s flurry of activity, yesterday left me feeling like I moved through a swamp filled with mucky ooze and annoying cattails. I attributed part of the trudging sensation to my 9 to 5’s slow pace the past two days. It is uncharacteristic, but several coworkers are taking last-minute advantage of summer vacations. I guess this revelation means I now know who the troublemakers are.

The lull provided me with under-utilized hours I could have squandered playing my favorite game apps. Instead, I addressed minor tasks on my To-Do List, which I had shuffled into the Defer-Until-Later column. Yes, boys and girls, later, arrived yesterday. The best thing about these tasks is they often require very little input from the gray matter in my head. They are tailor-made for days when I don’t have the energy to think.

Each night, my insomnia monster crawls out from under my bed, and the lack of sleep forces me to take a quick nap as soon as I finalized my 9 to 5 duties. It’s not ideal, but napping allows me enough rest to honor my most important commitments. I carried yesterday’s theme of completing deferred tasks forward to my writing time. I sifted through a stack of books and filled a box with candidates for re-homing. I sorted, organized, shredded, and filed documents that had taken up residence on the corner of my desk. Next, I reviewed my course workbook and jotted notes and thoughts about how I might answer the questions.

Free of non-essential items, my desk stands ready for my anticipated explosion of inspiration. But first, I need to tame the monster under my bed. His name is Slav, and someone told me he gets hungry at midnight. I’m hoping he might enjoy chocolate chip cookies and a glass of warm milk. And maybe if I tell him a bedtime story, we can both get some sleep.

I always remember my number one writing priority. My core habits are strong, and writing a little every day is my secret weapon. Yesterday I wrote 332 countable words.

Did you write yesterday?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer