• I managed to write the synopsis and got that off. I suppose that’s real work, so it doesn’t count – sounds like something I dashed off, but I have been working on it for a week or so already.

    Then my mother said she had seen a dining table in the Sue Ryder shop in Ross-on-Wye. What a wonderful waste of time going to check that one out. It was a bit bashed up and would have blocked up her kitchen a bit. The I did go to fetch my son, that took a little while.

    This afternoon I’ve been tidying up the studio. I actually managed to throw out a pot full of useless paintbrushes. I’ve even cleared out my in tray.

    Now my sketch book lies open on my desk. A blank page stares up at me. Tomorrow I shall get down to it. meanwhile I’ve got a load of paper that needs shredding. That’s always good fun!

  • Ping goes the email and I’ve a synopsis to write. That should put the big project off for a little while. Better go and make that cup of coffee.

  • This morning… my desk is clear! I have a huge new project about to start and I’m looking for ways to put it off for another day. It’s been in the pipeline for over two years now. I’ve reached the point when I have to get down to it. (In case you are wondering, it’s another eight book early reader series.)

    But my desk isn’t clear, not in a practical sense. In fact it is a complete mess and needs tidying up in a big way – that should waste some time after I’ve finished wasting time writing this. My intray is piled high – I’m sure there is a lot to attend to there. My son will probably need picking up from school later, I can pick up some brownie points if I volunteer.

    Maybe my website needs tinkering with? Shame my mother’s hospital appointment is tomorrow, that would have broken up the day, guilt free.

    Many of my FaceBook friends are writers. When I visit the site, I’m always amazed at how much they post about the work they are about to do – in the next five minutes – when they have just finished doing something mundane first. If they spent half the time they spend on FaceBook on actually writing, they would achieve so much. I think this, smile smugly to myself and then go and look for something to waste a bit more of my own time on. I’m sure my website needs tinkering with.

    I’ve just now remembered that A friend of mine and I talked about doing a book on displacement activity – unfortunately we found lots of other things to do instead. I just found the file we drew up of 100 things to do instead of work. So, rather than get on with some real work, I emailed her about it. Will she let me post the list on my blog? There that’s something to waste a few moments thinking about. Maybe I could waste a few moments finding a photo to make this entry a bit more interesting. that would waste a few minutes.

    escapePerfect! I found this scrawled on a desk in the Imperial College lecture theatre. Someone wasn’t paying attention when they drew this!

    Well, I really should get on with it now. Maybe I’ll go and make another cup of coffee first.