DAILY PROMPT RESPONSE
When I think about when I feel most productive these days, it’s not about some magical hour on the clock anymore.
When I worked, mornings were sacred—mostly because if I waited, life and other people’s drama would kick the door down.
Now that I’m retired, the rules have pretty much evaporated.
Productivity shows up whenever two things happen: I have a cup of strong java in one hand and a nice trail of smoke curling in the air. That’s it. That’s the list. Everything else — time of day, cosmic alignment, mood rings — is optional.
I also stopped setting up little landmines for myself, which I used to call “parameters”—imaginary rules about how things should look or be received. Now, I just build whatever I want without asking permission from the internal committee.
I’ve ditched worrying about the final product or whether someone will like it (spoiler: someone always doesn’t).
Now, I actually enjoy the process, like I should have all along.
In short: smoke, coffee, and the freedom to not give a damn about anything else.
Turns out, that’s the real productivity formula nobody bothered to put in the handbook.
Memoirs of Madness 