Routine
It's been a few weeks since my last post - a month, really. Safe to say, I've been off task.
This might be a good time to point out the importance of something that usually gets a lot of flack.
Routine.
Usually, I have a lot of negative knee-jerk associations with the word: boredom, depression, dying slowly in a tastefully decorated suburban home. Despite this, I've come to realize how important routine really is for me.
In early June, everything was upheaved. My partner had just returned from a two week stint out somewhere, we spent the whole first week cleaning and moving, then we went to Disney (which, to be fair, was rather fun), on returning we had to properly unpack and get settled with a new apartment and roommate (a totally new living situation to us), then sleep and writing schedules were thrown out the window when I got a part-time job that kept scheduling evening shifts... I don't think I've been on a proper routine since over two months ago. Not for lack of trying.
Every day has had a plan. However, each time that plan gets reshaped, pared down, and eventually chucked out in the face of my other obligations, my morale takes a hit. I feel less like I have the control of my life to decide what to do with it. It's impossible for me to play god on the page when I can't even get a handle on when I'm going to eat lunch. Blogging? Forget it.
When I write everyday in the same place at the same time with the same cup of tea, I don't feel bored. Instead, I feel like I'm being held back at the starting line, ready to sprint into my imagination. My word counts go up and, more importantly, I feel "in it".
Lately, my schedule has been a little different every day and it's been hard to stay focused. I want my tea, I want my chair, and, most importantly, I want my routine. Man, am I needy or what?
What I really need is time management and consistency. More than ever, I find myself respecting those writers who wake up before the crack of dawn - before their children, spouses, and coworkers - just to eek out a few hours of writing. I respect people who can balance full-time anything with writing and, most of all, I admire their tenacity. Maybe I'll get to where they are, maybe not. In the meantime, I leave you with this rambling blogpost as the first in a long time - and hopefully a harbinger of more, better posts to come.
This might be a good time to point out the importance of something that usually gets a lot of flack.
Routine.
Usually, I have a lot of negative knee-jerk associations with the word: boredom, depression, dying slowly in a tastefully decorated suburban home. Despite this, I've come to realize how important routine really is for me.
In early June, everything was upheaved. My partner had just returned from a two week stint out somewhere, we spent the whole first week cleaning and moving, then we went to Disney (which, to be fair, was rather fun), on returning we had to properly unpack and get settled with a new apartment and roommate (a totally new living situation to us), then sleep and writing schedules were thrown out the window when I got a part-time job that kept scheduling evening shifts... I don't think I've been on a proper routine since over two months ago. Not for lack of trying.
Every day has had a plan. However, each time that plan gets reshaped, pared down, and eventually chucked out in the face of my other obligations, my morale takes a hit. I feel less like I have the control of my life to decide what to do with it. It's impossible for me to play god on the page when I can't even get a handle on when I'm going to eat lunch. Blogging? Forget it.
When I write everyday in the same place at the same time with the same cup of tea, I don't feel bored. Instead, I feel like I'm being held back at the starting line, ready to sprint into my imagination. My word counts go up and, more importantly, I feel "in it".
Lately, my schedule has been a little different every day and it's been hard to stay focused. I want my tea, I want my chair, and, most importantly, I want my routine. Man, am I needy or what?
What I really need is time management and consistency. More than ever, I find myself respecting those writers who wake up before the crack of dawn - before their children, spouses, and coworkers - just to eek out a few hours of writing. I respect people who can balance full-time anything with writing and, most of all, I admire their tenacity. Maybe I'll get to where they are, maybe not. In the meantime, I leave you with this rambling blogpost as the first in a long time - and hopefully a harbinger of more, better posts to come.
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