I don't know about you but there are just some days, weekends or weeks that don't quite go to plan.
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It can be disheartening when the grand to do list you've written out barely gets a dent in it.

That ONE thing you'd picked out on your must do list, doesn't get finished (or started!)

Even your want to do list gets neglected in lieu of detours and distractions.

An inability to appropriately manage your supposed priorities.

Leaving a sense of 'I should have done more'...
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The book process has been a constant examination of this.

I naively thought that releasing one would put a halt to this prickly sensation.
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But if anything the list has been put on steroids. A million & one ways you could promote a book.

From Instagram stories to Amazon ads to networking to pitching influencers to seeking feedback to writing email newsletters like this one.
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It's tricky to pinpoint what will move the needle when you're just starting out.

Difficult to see traction from your isolated actions.

Then there's finishing Book 2.
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I've had to develop a similar romance to that held by the famous sci-fi writer, Douglas Adams, "I love deadlines. I love the whooshing sound they make as they go by."

And yet there is hope at the end of this email shaped tunnel.

Trust your Toucan.

Your battery will recharge the next day, the next week, for the next challenge.

You've probably done more than you're giving yourself credit for.

Plus, your inbox will never be completely empty.

Your to do list can always be rewritten.

A new plan can easily be imagined.
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​Who makes the list anyway?​
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You.
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Claude the monkey would give all this angst short shrift.
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He'd say embrace the play. Relish a bit of time off the plan. Enjoy what you have done.

Don't waste worry on what you haven't.

A bit of Monkey Business hurt no one.
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Tell that to the Monvida though.
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That being said there are a few items on the list I want to go and tick off before the weekend is out 🙊

Take it easy.

– J. R. Roberts

P.S. I received one of my favourite bits of Monkey State feedback yesterday. I was sipping on half a Guinness in the Nailsea clubhouse after a hard fought 3-1 win. A chap from the Colts had picked up a paperback copy a few weeks back and said he had something to show me. He proudly brought up his sleep scores on his phone. Two stressful workdays and no bedtime reading had resulted in scores of under 50/100. Whereas the 3 nights he read Claude were over 80/100. Now I can't remember if those figures are exactly right but his point was that a little dose of speculative fiction was sending him into a restful slumber. That could be a reflection on how dry the book is... Haha no, I'm proud of that comment and it's the way I like to read fiction too. So if your sleep is a bit patchy right now, maybe give the Eldervaria rainforest a whirl.