if you don’t want to work you have to work to earn enough money so that you won’t have to work

4. Write about what you’re not going to do this month or year. What are the things you want to stop doing or do less of? 

     I'm not going to buy ice cream to keep in the freezer - maybe get it when dining out but not making a habit of keeping it on hand.

    I'm saving up until the next big sale to buy a couch for upstairs, rather than getting it now and paying interest on it. 

    I'm watching less mindless TV or movies, reading more.

11. Write about one person that you couldn’t live without. Who are they, and what is it about them that you’d miss so much? 

    the death of a friend taught me that "can't live without" is a luxury. Life seems long but is inexpressibly short; to pretend that one's own wishes hold any sway is only blind arrogance.

18. What do blog readers frequently ask?

    that's funny - apart from an ongoing conversation I enjoy with r, a college friend who's been a faithful reader since time began, I've only gotten spam comments for the last couple of years. It is sometimes enormously disheartening and frustrating to know that the blog is being read (I can see the stats, after all) but that it's not making enough of an impact to inspire comments.

25. What are the biggest business mistakes you’ve made? 

    • unthinkingly turned off a computer that was supposed to remain connected at all times. It didn't have a huge, awful result, but the experience taught me to pay closer attention to words like "never" and "always."

    • I very innocently gave someone bad advice that ended up costing a surprisingly large amount of money. 

    • most recently, I told some truths that were useful but not much appreciated.

5. What unwritten rules at work make it difficult to get things done quickly, efficiently, or profitably? 

    share necessary information but not too much information - and the line between those is very fine

39. What’s on your playlist at the moment?

    as I go to sleep, I listen to either a playlist of rain and ocean sounds or a playlist of "brown noise" and "green noise" 

53. What is your work location? What’s special about your own personal setup? 

    I go through cycles. Sometimes I keep work completely confined to the (home) office. Other times I will start at the desk and move into the living room after lunch. For the entire winter I've been working from the living room all the time. Different postures can be more comfortable for long periods, and each room offers its own distractions. I recently reset the office to work in there again; we'll see how it goes.

 

[from What to blog about: 101 Irresistible blog ideas and supplemented with a few from from 301 Best Questions to ask on your Interview; the title quotation is by Ogden Nash, from Hard Lines]