I must be more disciplined!

Oh God, things are spiralling out of control in my study again. How do I be more disciplined?

How, dear readers, how?

It’s not that my mess really bothers me as I’ve an ability to “zone-out” from it which I’m putting down to my creative mind. Mr T, however, puts it down to some other aspects of my character. (None of which are repeatable on this blog.) Nevertheless, despite Mr T’s slur upon my character, I am a good wife and I can’t help being worried about the effect it is is having on him. Lately, every time he comes into my study (which fortunately is not often) he has started gagging. In fact, the last time he ventured forth when he started to gag I immediately ran to help the boys check the insurance certificate.

But, it’s true, I could do with being a lot more disciplined. I would be far more productive as a writer if I could be more organised. Other writers are knocking out self-help manuals and novels at the rate of about three a year – at the moment the only manual I could write is “How Not to Write a Self-Help Manual” – which would just contain a blank page.

So below is a picture of my desk as it is this morning. I am not showing you the rest of the room. I leave that to your imagination because, believe me, it is utter chaos. I should also point out that I removed the excess cups (of which there are usually at least 6-8) last night. I’m not sure how many there was but, in addition to the ones on my desk, there was a whole row on the window sill and I ran out of room on the top drawer of the dishwasher and had to use the bottom one as well.

Gulp.

Okay, I need some advice on how to organise myself. Anybody care to offer or shall I just check myself into the looney bin now?

There’s probably not a lot I can say about this except – “Oh shit”

Latest Posts

A to Z: B is for Badass Brits.

2 April 2025 405 Comments

Now, when I think of Badass Brits, I think of the likes of Jason Statham and Vinny Jones. Men with humble, working-class backgrounds who’ve made good and have a reputation as hard men in films. The kind of men who, 100 years ago, might have worked 12-hour shifts down the mines and still come home and dug the garden over. Not like our present PM, Keir Starmer, who keeps trying to pass himself off as the son

A to Z: Age is for Ageism

28 March 2025 23 Comments

So, I reckon we should start off the A to Z with a rant on ageism and generally being old (read f***** over for the less sensitive amongst you.) I know it’s hard to believe, but I started writing this blog in 2007 when I was 42. This makes me a dinosaur amongst the blogging community (i.e., I’m verging on the extinct), and last month, I turned 60. Now, I know the kinder amongst you will be saying, “How

New Website

14 March 2025 19 Comments

After 18 years on another CMS, I have moved my blog to a more versatile platform. However, it will take some time while I perform some jiggery-pokery to get it exactly how I want it. So please bear with me as things fall off the page, are posted upside down and so on. It has also beome apparent that I will have to edit hundreds of posts as importing them has screwed up all the post layouts, especially paragraphs. This

A Chicken Nugget A Day Keeps Justice Away

10 February 2025 7 Comments

I have been forced. Yes, forced to come out of blog hibernation to comment on the latest scandal to hit the UK. God knows I have been tempted multiple times in the last few years to comment on some of the insane things happening in the UK and in the world, but sadly, life has just thrown too many curve balls at me. But today, I can take no more – I cannot keep my mouth shut any longer over

My Nominees for the US and UK Elections and Other Waffle

31 October 2023 429 Comments

It’s the early hours of the morning, and I have had a large gin… Late-night alcohol is always a good recipe for writing gibberish. And I have not written gibberish for a while on my blog as I have been busy writing gibberish for my MA in Comedy Writing. Which I recently passed with a distinction. Yay! Yes, it transpires that even academics can be fooled into thinking gibberish is genius. Excellent. So anyway, I have written two sitcoms, a

Less is More (well that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it)

2 February 2023 48 Comments

I’ve been practising my haikus, which you may recall, I’m not particularly good at. However, I wanted to address the woke issue in a concise, meaningful way as it is such a serious matter for discussion and particularly relevant to me as a comic writer. Which, if you know me, translates as: 1) I’m too lazy to write a long analytical post. And 2) I’d rather watch a movie and eat tortilla chips. However, I feel obliged to say my

fordfocusmom says:

26 April 2014 at 6:13 AM

Isn't there some theorem about the natural order of things always going from order to chaos? The permanently tidy, 'show home'-look is therefore against nature and if I see one more enormous twig in a vase in the corner of an empty living-room, I may have to go AWOL. Empty room, empty mind.

Reply
Jane Turley says:

26 April 2014 at 8:28 AM

I an with you on the empty room/mind thing, Mrs B. And the twig in the vase. Whenever I see a twig in a vase I want to snap it. Call me a rebel:)

Reply