Does anyone have any pointers for staying on task while underemployed?

[magical thyme]

34. how did this turn into a thread about moving to find work?

The OP is *temporarily* underemployed, and trying to make good use of her time off before the work deluge begins.

I wish I could help, but I'm no better than she is. I'm per diem and, after a grueling 3 years in school past my midlife, am relieved to have a few days/week available to attempt to get caught up on stuff that fell by the wayside. Like, take care of the 2 trees down courtesy of Irene, get the extra toilet fixed that starting leaking last year (temporary fix of turning off water to 1/2 bath will hold indefinitely), clean house top to bottom, re-organize and get rid of extra junk, restore the perennial garden that was overrun with weeds and grass while I studied, etc. Get onto high speed and find freelance work for in between per diem. Etc.

Instead, I log on here and when stuff is taking forever to download, I use that time to productively stare into space. Right now I'm excusing myself because the first phase of garden reparation resulted in achy, sore elbows that get re-injured every time they reach the brink of better. Also because my temperature has been 1 degree below normal for days, so I think I'm fighting a virus which would explain why my achy sore muscles are spreading. Or maybe Lyme, since I was bitten by 2 ticks this spring.

I would mention to the OP that it's ok to have some downtime in life. Most Americans do not get enough of it. It's not wasting time. It's re-charging batteries.