Some of my happiest times are when I'm piddling. The way it works for me is that as I move through my day, if something gets my attention, I attend to it right away.

During my last piddling period, I sat to pet the dogs as long as they wanted to be petted. I clipped the loose threads on the table runner I bought recently on our trip to San Miguel de Allende. I put out the pumpkin plate for display.

If I force myself to keep to the schedule I've made and disallow piddling, my thoughts of what's undone begin to mount in my brain, and I eventually become anxious or stressed. It's so much better if I do those small tasks as I recognize them.

I don't believe this phenomenon is unique to me. I've noticed that my daughter's voice on the hone is happiest when she has a day to meander, walk, stop in her favorite shops, sit in the chair with a cat in her lap, or in her beautiful back yard with a coffee.

Piddling clears my heart and mind.

You write it: What clears your heart and mind? When was the last time you did it?

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