On, In and Around Mondays: Getting Things Done

The blue and white book sits to my left, on a table with makeshift tablecloth (floral on white fabric several yards long). I am lazing on the porch, morning sun warming my legs. My ivory socks literally say, "I am calm," in purple block letters (that's another story about a catalog order mix-up).

It is true that my legs and feet are calm, set on a folding chair, facing light-tipped hemlocks. But my elbow, which is dangerously near the blue and white book is practically twitching with stress. When I am finished writing this, I plan to rescue my elbow and my neck (which is also tightening at the very thought of what lies between those blue and white covers).

This is a rebellion I cannot explain. But it is real.

To my left sits a best-selling book called Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, and my upper body is all in a twist. Last night I glimpsed the contents— phrases like Getting Control, Five Phases, Setting Up, Reviewing, Next-Action. Like black plastic knobs (turn, turn, turn), they upped my stress level about five notches. I closed the book almost as soon as I opened it.

Blue and white are two of my favorite colors, but on this book they are battling with the purple-lettered declaration of my socks. There is only one course of action, which involves a return-to-the-library book pile. Now I put my pen down, get it done.


Hemlocks photo, by L.L. Barkat.

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On, In and Around Mondays (which partly means you can post any day and still add a link) is an invitation to write from where you are. Tell us what is on, in, around (over, under, near, by...) you. Feel free to write any which way... compose a tight poem or just ramble for a few paragraphs. But we should feel a sense of place.

Would you like to try? Write something 'in place' and add your link below. If you could kindly link back here when you post, it will create a central meeting place. :)