Motivation, Please

I don’t want to work today. I was in Manhattan yesterday and I got back home after midnight. Normally, that wouldn’t bother me, but this came two days after flying back on the early-morning flight from Cleveland. Mistake! Never take a 7:25 a.m. flight. You have to be at that airport before the sun wakes up. A wasted day of napping to feel human again. And arriving home early this morning sure didn’t help that feeling of falling off the chair (thank God for arm rests).

So I’m struggling to keep my eyes open, not to mention trying to concentrate in order to type out some notes on an interview. The subject matter is new and the client is testing me, so this is not the time to fall asleep at the keyboard. Because most of the stuff I write is technical, I could easily nod off anyway (true confession time – not everything I write about fascinates me). The study is warm today. All I need is a hot bath and a soft pillow and it’s lights out.

I started in on that taped interview three times now. Funny, but each time I push that button, I realize that something else needs to be done. So far this morning, I’ve watered the perennials in the garden, washed out my travel mug (the ONLY way to drink a honking-big cup of chai tea), eaten about a dozen Girl Scout Thin Mints (the cookies were in Cleveland – don’t tell me you wouldn’t make the trip, too!), answered a number of emails, scoured weblogs and posted comments, got into a lovely conversation with Caridad Pineiro about Paris Hilton and the latest Hollywood “spoiled brat pack”, and paid a few bills. It’s procrastination. So whaddya do when it strikes?

How about nothing? Sometimes it’s okay to allow your brain to go on vacation, even when you have looming deadlines. For me, I have five days until deadline. The interviews have been conducted and the story is mapped out somewhere in my brain. That I can’t think straight isn’t going to bother me so much today. There’s always tomorrow. Today, I’d much rather enjoy the 80+ degrees outside and perhaps watch a little Eddie Izzard DVD for levity (If you’ve never watched Eddie Izzard’s standup routines, I recommend Dress to Kill or Glorious for starters). I should prepare invoices. I should call the potential client about the ghostwriting gig. I should finish this article.

Shoulda coulda woulda. Maybe a noontime siesta is in order…