It was only a few hours ago today that I was writing about "the possibility that I just find every single one of the next thirty prompts [of Reverb10] stupid". Well, instructions for Day Two are in and...

Writing. What do you do each day that doesn't contribute to your writing — and can you eliminate it?

Alright, it's not so much stupid as irrelevant. Reverb10 is meant for serious writers, not occasional bloggers whimsically futzing around with words. Which well, yes, of course, as 750words is behind the initiative, and 750words, being aptly named, is all about making yourself write, write, write. And even though, as a scientist (currently trying to write an efficient short communication), writing, writing, writing is a big part of my job, I somewhat don't think I'm in the target audience for that prompt.

I've actually had to read a few contributions (following Twitter's hashtag #reverb10) to make sure that the question was meant to be understood as something like "what do you do each day that hurts your writing" and bring a reflection on the useless, counter-productive elements of one's daily routine or approach to writing. Of course, my current daily routine is filled with useless, counter-productive elements: isn't that the point of taking time off? As for my days before graduating... did you really think you can finish a dissertation without eliminating all the things that don't contribute to your research or writing that you can eliminate?

But truly, my first reaction was more along the lines of "what is this I don't even" and wondering why someone would think that doing things, even on a daily basis, that don't contribute to their main center of interest is a problem. I do tons of things each day that don't contribute to my writing (or my research), I thought. Because I am not completely obsessed with it yet.

The fact that I didn't even understand the question at first is probably a good indication that I shouldn't try to answer it. That say, I do have a short answer: brushing my teeth. And no, I cannot eliminate it.