working for myself, day one

Today I officially begin working for myself. Mark this as the first day of my new professional adventure. And by adventure I mean that I plan to tackle messes, convert the playroom into an office and otherwise preempt my usual forms of procrastination so that when it comes down to the task at hand, finishing my novel, I have no distractions.

It’s kind of amazing how much more productive I already feel at 9:45 this morning even though I haven’t even had a shower yet, and since I didn’t need to take a shower by any specific time, I got to sleep an hour later than usual. I successfully fed and got two kids off to school (okay, I do that most mornings) but this morning I could do it with a smile and not the proverbial whip that I usually carry because I’m trying to get myself ready too among the chaos.

The second load of laundry is running and I unloaded the dishwasher. I cleaned out one of the drawers of the drafting table I’m using for my desk, a space that previously housed a variety of little boy trinkets, all covered with a film of pencil shaving dust. I made a to do list and paid some bills.

Now, I feel somewhat settled and ready to write, though I am a little jittery from too much coffee. And I even have a starting place. Last night my instructor posted her critique of my major writing assignment of the semester, 5000 words of my story ending. But before I sit down to tackle her comments, there’s a new chapter idea brewing in my head that I feel compelled to start. But before that, I have this post to finish. And after that, I think the book shelf needs reorganizing.

And then at some point this afternoon, the professional adventure will begin.