If there is one consistent through-line in my writing routines, it is that they change to fit my life at the moment. I used to look at this as a weakness, as proof that I couldn’t keep to a schedule. Now I see that allowing myself to be flexible to life’s needs helps me to be more productive rather than less so.
For instance, right now my daily routine goes something like this: wake up and run (my husband and I are training to run a half marathon), shower and eat breakfast, then I have 20-30 minutes of flex time to do whatever I want or need to before the writing day begins at 9am. (Thank you, God, that I no longer have to commute! ☺ ) I write from 9am to 1pm – write, not research or any other almost-writing activity. Then I break for lunch and check email, and in the afternoon I do my almost-writing activities like research, reading, writing non-fiction articles and blog entries, more email, etc. The last few hours of the late afternoon I try to get household chores done, pay bills, run errands, whatever else is on my to do list for the day.
That’s the routine I shoot for and often accomplish. That is not the average day! LOL! I have a tendency to think and work in a project-oriented way. Once I get writing, I find it difficult to stop while I still have something to say. That would explain why my husband asked me yesterday why we had no groceries. I kept meaning to go to the store, but I’ve been in the flow for the last two weeks and haven’t wanted to stop!
In the same way, once I get started on email, I find it very hard to stop while there are still emails that need to be answered. In fact, I’ve found that if I don’t literally close my email program, I’ll keep checking it every time it dings at me – not good for getting writing and other work done. Same with my to do list. If I start working through it first thing in the morning, I’ll get tons of stuff done – except for writing.
And that’s why I write in the morning now. Apparently, whatever I get started on first thing is what my energy is going to be focused on, not just for the hours I’m working on it, but on and off for the whole day. I used to try to “get everything else done so my afternoon is free for writing.” But all that meant is that somehow I didn’t get much/any writing done!
I don’t look at these frequent changes to routine as signs that I “failed yet again.” That is, I no longer look at it that way. Now I see it as changing my routine to meet the changing needs of life. Plus I suspect that my creative brain needs to do things a little differently every now and then, shake things up to keep it interesting.
What routines have you tried? What worked? What surprised you? Jump in and share your experiences!
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For a year or so, I had a schedule where I planned to write my (paying) nonfiction on Monday and Tuesdays, wrote fiction on Wednesdays and Fridays, and used Thursdays for grocery shopping and things like updating my account book and straightening my office. It didn’t work, and I didn’t enjoy it.
After RWA, I came up with a new schedule. Mornings I work on paying work and non-work stuff that had to be done during business hours (doctor appointments, vet appointments, making phone calls, etc.) and afternoons I work on fiction. This schedule is much easier to stick to (although the paying work tends to bleed over into the afternoon), and it’s much more fun because every day I get to look forward to writing fiction.
That flexibility, being able to adapt to changes in our days, is a fantastic talent but can so easily turn sour when it results in losing focus on what is most important in our lives. That is how routines have most helped me. When I have an established routine, I’m much more aware of my time. The other thing I’m choosing to do instead of writing might be more important, but at least I have consciously chosen it, not inadvertently done things all day except the one that I really wanted to do.
Shauna, I sooo agree with you that I need to keep my mind focused on *looking forward* to the fiction part of the day! I’m glad to hear your new scheduled is working for you! Let us know how it goes.
And Stephanie, I think it was you who first made me aware of *consciously* choosing to depart from a routine. Today I decided that it was silly to write on my bed every day when I have a perfectly good desk! LOL! So I cleared off the desk (put everything on the bed!) and turned on my computer. It’s 5:30pm and I haven’t gotten a single word of fiction written! I’ve gotten a lot of “good” stuff done, but no fiction. Apparently, I’ve trained my brain to believe it should focus on the story when I’m sitting cross-legged on my bed! LOL! Guess where I’m going to write tomorrow?!
Kitty, I go through that every time I change where or when I write. I usually give myself a week to get a true evaluation of whether it’s going to be a good change. That’s why I was so excited when I discovered taking my computer out to a coffee shop for 2-3 hours resulted in a lot of work getting done. It only took a day! (So why have I slacked off on the coffee shop writing? I ask myself. Guess where I’ll be tomorrow? LOL)
Shauna, at present I have to work on my fiction first or it never gets done. It hasn’t always been that way, though. When kids were younger and needed me more, I wrote late at night. And on those rare occasions I had time during the day to write, I struggled. That just illustrates how easy it is to train our minds if we just do something often enough. Ahh! In other words, make it routine!
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