But if I’m not traveling, what use can I put this little guy to? As a freelance writer and editor working from home, getting out of the house is always nice. So I’ve instituted a new ritual: the Monday morning battle plan. It gets me out of the house and makes the rest of my week far more productive.

Here’s how it works:

• Throw tiny computer, Moleskine planner, pen, lip balm, and obnoxiously sparkly change purse into my backpack
• Head to a coffee shop, usually one within walking distance
• Order a cup of coffee (preferably one with at least one refill) or a pot of tea and find a table
• Check email — all four accounts — and my About.com Exotic Cars page
• Figure out what must be done that week and what I would like to get done that week, and write it in the planner, along with any firm deadlines, meetings, appointments, etc.

Ta da! This takes about an hour, maybe a little more. Without the distractions of home (the dog, laundry, podcasts on my office computer), I can see what I need to do, and give myself five days to do it. And if I plan it all out on Monday morning, I find that don’t usually add much to the list as the week progresses. It’s more about crossing things off than adding new items.

This week’s to-do list is short, which means more time to pitch new markets (Oprah, I’ve got my sights on your magazine) and add lots of new content to my About site. And, of course, more time to play fetch in the backyard.

I got John Z. DeLorean’s 1985 autobiography out of the library, and it was amazing. There was too much good stuff in the book to include in a short recap of the man’s career, but it included such gems as “Our first cars came off the assembly line in March of 1981. I had expected them to be bad; I couldn’t imagine them being that terrible!”

I was invited to Arizona — during the worst week of weather I think the state has ever had — to drive the new long-wheelbase supercar hand-built in the Netherlands.

I wrote this quick post for the New York Times “Wheels” blog over the weekend before the exhibit opened, and my editor got it up on Monday, just in time for Black History Month. Perfect.

The Aston Martin One-77 is one of the fastest cars and most expensive cars on the planet — and it’ll be limited to just 77 examples. Ever.