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Next week I shoot an episode of CBS's sitcom "How I Met Your Mother", and then I leave for my book tour for the rest of September... all the while, gratefully fulfilling myriad book publicity requests - whenever humanly possible!

Juggling acting and academics in one form or another seems to be the norm for me. Ever since I was a child actress, I learned to juggle schoolwork on film sets... running back and forth between shooting an emotional crying scene, and taking a History exam. Boy, that'll train you to focus on the task in front of you!

I've found it a bit harder to juggle things these days - well, I should say that I need more technique to get through it ... without a pounding headache. Luckily, my mom is a mediation instructor and taught me to meditate at a very young age. I haven't always practiced it regularly, but I'm not too proud to admit that I need it more now than ever.