An elliptical in the basement creates a delicious quandary. When I have 20 extra minutes in the morning, do I read, write …. or work out?

Some days the answer is driven purely by my need for tea. If it’s severe, I settle in on the couch with my laptop and this blank screen in front of me. Tea and blog-writing go together beautifully.

But on days when the muscles feel limber enough to jump on the machine right away, well, then that is what I do. The blog-writing and tea drinking just have to wait.

Such was the situation this morning, which means I’m cranking out a post 10 minutes before a meeting—and there’s no tea in sight.

Such are the perils of affluence.