Sabbatical: October

In October, I will breathe more often and never open my email until noon. I will go to the ocean once a week, and I will eat and pray, if you want to call it that, in accord with my 12-step master plan. I will write every day for at least 15 minutes, possibly 15 hours. I will walk. I will practice compassion, beginning with me.

I will read voraciously after cataract surgery and two months of impossible glasses, with new lenses freshly ground. I will say “no” at least as often as “yes.” I will submit to new sleep patterns—and several pieces of writing a week to my very favorite sources of reading pleasure. I will make up for lost time, put my closets in order, and take on no editorial jobs that take longer than 3 hours. I will come out of October well read, rested, thinner. Oh, I’ll be perfect—at last!