I just spent a chunk of time trying to open a properly-saved file on my computer that, for some reason, now needs to be recovered. Couldn’t do it.

That file was a blog post draft in MS Word, so instead I looked elsewhere, to other blog posts drafts saved within my WordPress app. When I clicked there, I just watched the beach ball spin, thinking, “Any second now…now?…any second now…bad internet connection?…frozen?” No luck. After a bunch more time spent restarting and fiddling, I glanced at my watch. I was stunned to see an entire hour had passed, just trying to get going on something, anything, on a fidgety day.

Have you ever had a morning like that, when you’re restless and you decide to tackle something easy, and even THAT doesn’t work?

I look outside, thinking a stroll might help. The flagpole flag across the street is whipping straight out horizontally, writhing in an attempt to escape the relentless north wind. Nope, no sketching outside for me today.

So what do I do? I have a bad case of “Giddey-Up-Whoa.” It’ll pass, it always does. But the question remains, “What to do in the meantime?”

Here’s where an “In Case of Emergency Notebook” comes in handy. It’s a little something I invented several years ago, and it has saved me more than once. Let me walk you through it.

It’s an A5 size looseleaf notebook (about 5.5” x 8.5”) which I keep in a safe place on the bookshelf. It has three sections:

1- To EMTs: If I need rescuing, and I have my wits about me at all, I pull out this section that has the names of my MDs, my meds, my allergies, and my emergency contacts.

2- To EXECUTOR: In case the EMT’s fail at their job, my brother knows where to find this book. This section has all the vital info he’ll need: the name of my lawyer, my bank details, the main passwords on my computer. I was the executor of my mother’s estate, and she had all her final instructions carefully written out for me. Even still, she often quizzed me about those wishes during those last few years of her life. It made it easier to talk about it, and we both got to laugh at her need for control beyond the grave.

3- I’m BORED! : This is the spiritual triage section I use before the EMTs are needed. You might think this section is the least important of the three, but I use it far more often than the other two. When I am having a fidgety, bored, pointless, existential day, I know I don’t have access to my right mind, let alone insight or wisdom. That is when I need to be reminded of what I love, what lifts my spirits, what is accessible and most likely free, that will set me back on track. I add humor too; that always helps. Here are some examples:

Physical:

1- Walk over to the gym (which is a block away). Go in, turn around, walk out. Give yourself credit for going to the gym.

2- Turn on Pandora and find Stevie Wonder or The Indigo Girls or any dance music. Dance enthusiastically through two whole songs, precisely because no one is watching.

3- “10-Minute Tidy”: Set a timer (wind-up timers are great) for 10 minutes and race around the room and see how much stuff you can put away in ten minutes. You’ll be surprised. Remember, this is Triage Tidying Only: you must stop after 10 minutes (that is, unless you’re having a really, really good time).

4- STRETCH! Stand by the foot of your bed, back of your knees touching the bed. Now with your hands over your head, stretch as far as you can, fingers spread wide apart, toes stretched too. Stretch every joint you can think of, pretend you’re being tortured on the rack. Then, with an enthusiastic “AAARGHH!” exhale all the air in your lungs and flop back on the bed. Take another deep breath right there, in and out, and admire that gorgeous ceiling. Stay there until you can imagine doing something that’s even more fun.

Sitting Time:

After I’ve addressed my need to physically shake off a funky mood, I look at my favorite sitting activities: reading, writing, drawing, and painting. This time, I reach for my timer and set it for 30 minutes to get me started.

1- I’ll read whatever novel I’m in for 30 minutes guilt-free, or

2- I’ll study my latest art instruction book (Ron Ranson these days) and keep going for half an hour, or

3- I’ll go through the photos on my computer and set aside the ones that might be contenders for paintings, or

4- I’ll choose one of those photos and explore creating a series of different compositions, with different horizon lines, viewpoints, perspectives, or

5- I’ll fill my water pot on my dedicated art table, look through my composition sketches and find one that inspires me to try a juicy watercolor value study using only burnt umber, or

6- I’ll feel so good after walking to the gym and back and doing a 10-Minute Tidy that I just might sit down, turn on the laptop, and tap out a letter to myself, disguised as a blog post to you.

When all else fails, getting back into my body first seems to work best. Walk, stretch, work off some steam, then read a real book I hold in my hands, or pick up a piece of paper and an old-fashioned wooden pencil and draw using the side of the lead to create large, shaded shapes that inspire instead of delicate lines that constrict. Or I can write, which is another form of drawing: sketching with words.

And finally, there’s water.

Drink it when it’s clean. Paint with it when it’s not.

What more could you want?