Because I am only busy and not crazy-busy right now, I actually had time to read and digest an excellent article about self-imposed busy-ness by Tim Krieder. It’s nothing I didn’t already know, but a lot of things I tend to forget. Maybe I should stick some choice excerpts up on my wall to help me remember that sometimes it’s okay to spend a day doing absolutely nothing that could be readily classed as “productive”. I honestly can’t remember the last time I did that without guiltily feeling like I was just wasting the whole damn day.
My favourite pull-quote:
“Idleness is not just a vacation, an indulgence or a vice; it is as indispensable to the brain as vitamin D is to the body, and deprived of it we suffer a mental affliction as disfiguring as rickets. The space and quiet that idleness provides is a necessary condition for standing back from life and seeing it whole, for making unexpected connections and waiting for the wild summer lightning strikes of inspiration — it is, paradoxically, necessary to getting any work done.”
The rest lives here and is well worth your consideration.
As for me, for now, it’s back to the word mines.
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Kirstyn McDermott 
Thx for sharing this, Kirstyn. It actually reflects a lot of how I’m feeling right now and might be at the core of my last blog post about my ‘supposed crappy work ethics’ http://michelecashmore.com/2012/07/03/bullshit-work-ethics-or-perfectionism/
Like you, I always feel guilty when I’m not busy – how dumb is that? Doing absolutely nothing is positive joy when I get to experience it ♥
Also, adore the savage chickens poster – can I pinch it?
Go for it. I pinched it myself. 😉
Oh that’s a fantastic article! Thanks! I love this: “It’s hard to find anything to say about life without immersing yourself in the world, but it’s also just about impossible to figure out what it might be, or how best to say it, without getting the hell out of it again.” And also: “if your job wasn’t performed by a cat or a boa constrictor in a Richard Scarry book I’m not sure I believe it’s necessary”
I found the time to read the entire article. What a luxury and just what I needed.
You should be writing your next novel, instead of this verbose indulgence.