Monday morning, first official work day of the new year, first official day on the job.  2010 is now a pleasant memory, and it’s my job to make 2011 be the year it all started.

But first things first —

Okay, here’s where I thought I would talk about the most important work of a writer, but I’m going to save that for tomorrow.

Instead, I’m going to talk about protecting that most important work before you even get to it.

I’m going to go out on a very short limb here and say that 99.9% of writers (professional and pre-professional) don’t work outside of the home.  This is usually considered a huge plus.  Who doesn’t want to work in their jammies?

But there are distinct advantages to working outside of the home.  For one, people take you more seriously when you get up at an ungodly hour each day, shower and put on clean clothes, and go Somewhere Else.  Just meeting these three criteria alone automatically earns you the title of Productive Citizen Pulling Their Own Damn Weight.

Because of this, work time is generally considered sacred, and if you’re gainfully employed outside of the home, most people in your life will save their interruptions until after the quitting whistle blows.  After all, if they love you, then they don’t want to get you in trouble with your boss.

But the perception is different when you’re a self-proclaimed not-yet-published writer who looks suspiciously like a bored housewife with a toddler underfoot and a lot of time on her hands.  (Ha, ha!)

So first things first…I may look like a bored housewife with a toddler underfoot and a lot of time on my hands <choke>, but I’m not.  I am a working writer who is trying to fit her work day around the most precious thing in my life, my daughter, and somehow do right by both my family and myself.

It is an understatement to say that I don’t have a lot of free time.  When I do get free time, I want to give it to my dream, you understand?

So if I don’t answer your text, email, phone call or tapping on my window in a timely fashion, it’s because I’m WORKING and I don’t want to get in trouble with MY BOSS (me).

However, I’m always down to meet for drinks after work.