Wasting time...it's a matter of perception

 posted by Suzanne

After yesterday's blowout in the Lair with Anna's launch party, I think most of us need a day of recovery. So today's blog is a salute to ways to waste time. Some of these ways will be very laid back and lazy, others might surprise you.

1. Reading.Yep, my most favorite way to waste time is to read. From the time I brought home my first library book to this very afternoon, I find nothing more enjoyable than wiling away the day or evening or night with my nose in a book.

This drove my father crazy. (Note: I said father. My mother was my enabler, supplying me with various books and authors over the years.). About once a month my mother worked late and it fell to me to cook dinner. Well, I figured that if I had to be stuck in the kitchen cooking, I could read while things were cooking on the stove or in the oven. Especially if I was reading a Kathleen Woodiwiss or Johanna Lindsey book. I mean, what's a burned hamburger compared to the emotions and intrigue in those books? Dad's idea of wasting time was my idea of multi-tasking!



2. Watching TV. Yes, I love my DVR. I can record my shows during a baseball game or while I am at work and get caught up when my insomnia hits or when I'm not quite ready for bed. 2 AM is early for me! Now, mind you not all my favorite shows are crime shows or cooking shows, despite what my hubby will tell you.

No, one of my favorites these days is..........Holmes On Homes. Have you seen this? Mike Holmes is a Canadian contractor who goes in and fixes the disastrous errors committed by other, less trustworthy contractors. He makes no bones about what the others have done wrong and isn't above gutting entire rooms or homes to "make it right" for the families living there. (Personally, I think a man who can fix things to be verrrrrrrrry sexy!)

So watching TV isn't really a waste of my time. It keeps me current with popular genre fiction, up to date on crime scene technology, new recipes, and home remodeling. See my dear hubby's idea of wasting time, is my idea of research. (I'm seriously hoping Mike Holmes will come fix my bathrooms!)


3.Cleaning my office. Stop groaning! This is actually a very therapeutic activity for me and constitutes wasting time, since it keeps me from writing. :) (I'm basically stuck in the middle of a sex scene, so I need some non writing therapy to let my subconscious figure out the problem....no jokes about coitus interrupt-us, y'all!) Anyways, organizing files and papers, determining what is needed and what can be shredded can free up my creative side. Besides, it's sort of like a treasure hunt....and we all know how much Banditas love treasure! (I wish my office looked this organized!)

So what treasures did I find today? Some pictures I'd meant to scrapbook. My latest credit report...been looking for that for a while. Some cards from former patients and some from my kids I want to put in my private momentos box. See treasures! One writer's waste of time is another's answer to writer's block!

I also came up with the idea for this blog and managed to write a few pages on a side project titled, and yes this is it's actual title, "An Attempt At Regency".

So, that's some of my time wasters...(and we didn't even cover Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook). What's yours? Any particular ways you like to waste time? Do you find side benefits for them? Anything someone else does that you think is totally unproductive?