I haven’t been sticking to my writing schedule. Sure, I could blame it on having been sick for almost a week and the cough that is still lingering (which is most likely allergies, since our temps here in Middle Tennessee have been in the 80s for the past week and EVERYTHING is blooming). But the truth of the matter is, I’ve simply been ignoring the schedule and sitting in front of the TV wasting time—even when I know there’s nothing on and I have several projects needing my attention.

I wish I could say that I’ve been procrastinating by doing other things—yardwork, spring cleaning, or other projects—but that’s not even the case. Nope. I’ve just been lazy the past couple of weeks. (Of course, you notice, I have managed to post a blog entry almost every day.)

Every night when I go to bed, I feel guilty, because I haven’t finished reading Miss Invisible, I haven’t responded to a few e-mails I know are waiting for my attention, and, most detrimental, I’ve hardly written, even though I now have two projects going. And I think, Tomorrow, I’ll get back on the schedule; I’ll write at least 1,000 words—on one or the other or both projects; I’ll get out and walk my mile; I’ll read for at least thirty minutes; I’ll catch up on all my e-mails; and I’ll go to bed by 11:00.

Knowing that I couldn’t waste another entire Saturday as I did last weekend (in my defense, I was running a fever, couldn’t breathe—or when I did, lapsed into a coughing fit—and my head spun every time I moved), I started the day out well by making it to my 9 a.m. hair appointment not just on time, but about 45 seconds before my stylist arrived for the day. I then spent the remainder of the morning and early afternoon scouting for a real location to use as a template for the town in my new project I’m working on. (This, of course, necessitated a stop at Starbucks for a latte and Barnes & Noble for a good roadmap of Middle Tennessee before I actually hit the road). Several hours later, around 1:30, I found myself sitting in Courthouse Square in Charlotte, Tennessee, sketching a map of the square complete with the businesses or offices located in each of the buildings.

On the way home, I stopped for lunch, and then picked up some posterboard at Walgreens (the kind with the hairline grid printed on it) and hit the interstate for the half-hour drive home. And this time was made double-use of, as I was listening to an audiobook almost the entire time.

Once home, I put clothes in the dryer, straightened up the kitchen, fixed a snack (iced tea and carrots with buttermilk dressing for dipping), and then moved a small table (the one I use for my little Christmas tree) into the living room where I started laying out the map of my setting. So while I didn’t do any actual writing Saturday, I did get some writing-related work accomplished.

Sunday, I’m almost ashamed to say, the only writing I got done was a couple hundred words written on the back of the handout we were given in the special Sunday school class that all adult classes combined for (taught by a judge who’s a member of the church about the trial of Jesus). After church was the new member luncheon (I was one of the honorees), then I spent a couple of hours setting up and formatting a blog for the new college Sunday school class I’ll be teaching beginning this coming Sunday.

So, tonight when I get home from work, I WILL walk, I WILL catch up on e-mails, I WILL write at least 1,000 words on one or both of my WIPs, I WILL take at least half an hour to read Miss Invisible, and I WILL go to bed by 11ish. And I WILL check in tomorrow to let you know if I was successful in sticking to my schedule.