Procrastination as art form

Here I am, not quite done with the daily dose o' editing on the book I need to turn in, and yet the call of the web is like a siren . . . No, not THAT kind of siren, although it IS kind of an emergency!! The kind of siren who lured ancient sailors and now modern-day writers to their dooms . . .

E-mail and e-mail loops. AARGHHHHH.

Does it really MATTER if I know all the news the exact nano-second it occurs?? Does it really make a difference to my life? Why am I one of those people who checks e-mail 1000 times per day, as if something EARTH-SHATTERINGLY IMPORTANT might happen in the ten minutes between checks. Sigh. It's not like I'm not reachable by at least three different phone numbers . . .

Okay, here's the problem. It's like those rats who got rewarded with cheese just often enough to make them twitchy. The other night, my editor e-mailed me at 10 pm to ask me for something she actually needed for a meeting first thing the next morning. What if I'd MISSED that? What if I'd let down my editor?? What if ALL OF NEW YORK PUBLISHING fell into a black hole because I didn't check e-mail??

Well, maybe not that last one . . .

Alesia, the neurotic procrastinator, searching for valid rationalizations

ps Check out Lani's wonderful post at www.literarychicks.com for the continuation of Motherhood Week