You know the trap that I always fall into as a writer/self-employed entity?

Productivity.

But Tam, I hear you say, surely productivity is a good thing! Without it you’d get nothing done. And you’re not WRONG, but you’re not entirely right either. It’s just so easy to feed all of your time and attention into that particular meat grinder. Any time you take off to get a coffee or bake a cake or chill with your friends feels like it’s been wasted. The guilt of it niggles at you and then you get home and rather than relaxing, you crack your laptop open and try to catch up.

Weekends? An opportunity to do more work!

Family events? Maybe you go, but you give your hair a lick and a promise on your way out the door because you had your nose down in the current project until the last possible instant. AND you leave early.

The thing is that productivity isn’t just about time. You can pour all your waking hours into work, but not actually accomplish a whole lot. The thing to remember is that sometimes it’s good to just close the laptop and forget about stuff. Let your brain rest. Properly, none of that only being half-present while you think about your next move in a book or post on social media. The  brain is like any other muscle, it needs to be given time to recover from whatever wringer you put it through. It doesn’t have to be at the same time as everyone else – plenty of people write best at night, while others get up at dawn! – but there needs to be that…airlock between Work and the Rest of Your Life.

For example, I have friends over this week (which has been so much fun, and the #writingstaffie is in heaven) and I’ve limited my Authoring Time and stuck to that limit. So I do my newsletter (and this article), but if I’m on twitter it’s as ‘thon idiot that forgot she’d stuck a bottle of water in her back pocket and bent over’ and not as TA Moore, who writes stuff.  It’s been good for me. When I stop chewing on a project sometimes my brain quietly sorts out whatever it was in the background. If I actually manage not to stress about the fact I’m not working, it’s such a relief that I can think past the overload.

So what ways can you waste time productively?

Go and see your friends! Not only is it good for you to get out and do stuff that makes you happy, but you know who you write about? People! How do you think you can write about them if you spend all your time avoiding everyone you know and meeting nobody new? You’ll just end up recycling, like, five character mannerisms because you’ve forgotten all the other ones.

Take the dog for a walk! Or just take your own butt for a walk. It is a scientific fact that walking helps with problem solving, which in my experience includes plots. It’s mindless, repetitive, and gives your subconscious time to toss a few ideas at the mental wall and see what sticks. Plus who knows what you might see when you are out. Ideas can come from anywhere.

Get fish and chips. OK, this one is sort of specific! I’m gluten-free and it’s been so long since I had REALLY GOOD fish and chips. So it was just this big, uncomplicated indulgence to actually get the best fish and chips in town (gf!) and in a weird way that helps too. It’s like…just treating yourself gives you the feeling that you must be someone who deserves a treat. Which, I suppose, gives you way too much insight into my brain, but still.

Get enough sleep. Have a lie in when you can. It’s not a crime! No lethargy police will find out about your crime and come to get you.

Last of all? Stop procrastinating and get back to work. Sometimes you DO have to be productive, you know?