Cold as a Clam

Whales 5eva and a new prompt.

Whale of a Time by Laura Didyk, 2015: lauradidyk.com

I’m thinking about word choices. A friend called me out the other day because I used the word produce five times in ten minutes. As in generate, not as in apples. This was telling, she said.

I feel daily pressure to be productive, to make something out of my time that is tangible or measurable. See? I replied to the emails, applied for the grant. I put the groceries away. I returned the library books.  

As a self-employed person, it can feel never ending. There’s no clocking out. (Okay, there’s the reward of Girls5eva on Netflix, but this is 20 minutes before bed.) I appreciate the flexibility of being my own CEO, CFO, CHRO, CHC (Chief Hen Coordinator), but I often want to fire myself for insubordination. (I talk back. No one really cares about your hens, I say.)

I mean that productivity becomes a trap. If I’m not making something valuable (i.e. something that can be transformed into money for apples), I’m unproductive.

How does this fee…