Processing

Another thing I can never seems to figure out ahead of time is whether I am wasting time or processing information.  It seems to take a certain amount of "down" time to let my brain work through complex problems.  I noticed this particularly in writing where my process involves about 10 minutes of writing for every 3 hours of what seems like avoidance.  These activities can include: cleaning, watching tv, playing on the computer.  Anything that is essentially mindless and distracting.  It took years to figure out that this "waste" of time was actually critical processing time.  I know I am done when I sit back down to write and the words come flowing off my fingers as if -duh- what else could I ever have written.  This does not happen if I "buckle down" and keep trying.  So processing is extremely important.  But sometimes it goes too far.  Like this morning I complained to my husband that I didn't have enough money to purchase my Spanish Galleon.  Seriously.  Gardens of Time may have moved from processing agent into obsession.  But since I started playing I've quit watching those ridiculous housewife shows.  If only I could "process" while reading Derrida or something.  I'd be a genius!