Here in the Northeast, it is C-O-L-D today! Mr. Muse has a snow day from work, I just filed two articles yesterday, our heating system is on the fritz, and I'm waiting to hear from a couple of sources (not holding my breath about getting a response today), so I don't expect this to go down in history as an über-productive day. Still, I'd hate to let a weekday go to waste, especially when I can't spend it outside. Here are a few of the tasks I do when I have downtime: --Catch up on reading. Between magazine subscriptions, newsletters, stacks of books, press releases, and RSS feeds, it's easy to fall behind on reading. But all places can be great sources for story ideas and general inspiration, so I love spending an afternoon immersed in reading. --Catch up on paperwork. I try to keep up with invoices, contracts, receipts, and other paperwork, but often it gets overshadowed by deadlines or new projects. A spare few hours is often all that's needed to get back on track, though. In between Christmas and New Year's, I spent half an hour tallying up my 2010 business expenses (most of them stored in a designated Gmail folder for later). I also spent an evening tidying up the digital file and folders on my computer while I watched a movie. Like going to the dentist, it's not my favorite activity, but I sure feel better afterwards. --Write new queries and schedule follow-ups. Last fall, I got so busy I had to put a lot of article ideas on hold while I finished current assignments. Now I'm enjoying revisiting my idea list and sending out queries. Following up on queries is also important, so I use Boomerang for Gmail to schedule follow-up emails a few weeks later. --Write new blog posts. When I get busy with paid projects, it's hard to make time for blogging. So I'm trying to be better about batching several blog posts at once and scheduling them in advance so it's more manageable. --Set long-term goals. True, one should continuously review long-term goals and strategies, but often those get pushed aside by short-term deadlines and other day-to-day stresses. That's why a free day or afternoon is a great time to look at where you've been, where you want to go, and how to get there. I keep a list of dream publications that I update every few months. --Work on personal projects. Here's yet another area that's often neglected by busy freelancers. But nurturing those personal projects help us stay engaged in our work and challenge us creatively. I have a writer's group meeting next week, so I'm hoping to finish an essay that's been rolling around in my head and bring it for critiquing. What do you do when you have downtime? Any other suggestions? Flickr photo courtesy of ditav_v