Routines

You know how some people can sleep anywhere? Give them a bed or a comfy chair and they're out like a light. Then there are people who toss and turn in a hotel room, even if it's quiet, because it isn't THEIR bed. Some people require more structure than others. I am such a being.

When I was working, I had to balance a demanding day job with my writing gig. When I first began "seriously" writing, I did it at night, when the rest of the household was asleep by nine o'clock. I continued that routine for several years, which worked out well. It gave me stress relief at the end of the day when all my other responsibilities were taken care of. Nothing is so constant as change, however. Little kids turned into big kids, the job became MORE demanding. There was a period of time where I didn't write, at least not consistently.

As life became more routine again, I found time to write again. Early in the morning. On my lunch hour. That became the new norm, and as I settled into that routine, I cranked out a lot of books! Then life changed again. I retired. Now I had ALL DAY to write if I wanted to. I wanted to, but funny thing about that. It's much easier to procrastinate when you tell yourself "oh, I can do that later. I have ALL DAY." Suddenly, you don't have all day. Routines are gone once again, but because I had all day to write, I did find time. I settled into a new routine doing my running around in the morning and sitting at the keyboard after lunch. Success! Funny thing, though. If I have a free morning, I find I do better in the mornings. Still. Years of conditioning to take advantage of those early hours don't fall away easily.

I still get upended when life rears its ugly head and interferes, and with the holidays and other distractions cutting into my writing time, I'm behind schedule. Once again, my routine was thrown off. Well, the holidays are over, and other distractions continue to poke at me, but here's the thing. Writing is a job. You have to treat it like one. So I'm back at the keyboard after lunch, working to re-establish that routine. For some people, they have to sit at a desk with their headphones on either blocking the world out or listening to "writing music," but for me, I just need my keyboard and a comfortable chair. The physical aspect isn't so important for me as the old "just do it" part. The music? Yes, when I get stuck, I've found having background music can drown out whatever other distractions might be lurking, as long as I sit at my computer.

What about you? Are you a structured person? Do you have routines that, when you miss them, throw you off balance? Or can you "sleep anywhere?"

Roadrunner and the coyote

Roadrunner on the wall - Courtesy of Joy

I had the best time in Arizona ... was able to relax and unwind for a weekend reconnecting with good friends, getting out of the cold Illinois winter, and watching coyotes and roadrunners - where the roadrunner was victorious yet again! Well, maybe the roadrunner hadn't beaten the coyote, but it was certainly in better shape than its cartoon adversary! 

As I did my "safe arrival" call with the big guy looking across to the mountains and the desert, I saw a coyote limping up the wash. Big, beautiful coyote, unlike the mangy, skinny ones we have in Illinois, but it was clearly injured. Further down the wash (okay, the desert down the wash was actually a golf course), I saw birds running. From the distance they looked like roadrunners. I was later to discover they were actually quail as they, too, moved up the wash that ran alongside the house. (The bird in the picture, courtesy of our host, IS actually a roadrunner.)

While away from everyday routines, I read another book that I enjoyed, which means I can do another books and cookies newsletter with a recommendation, and one of my friends loaned me another book to read that she recommended. 

I have a few appointments to clear this week which are interrupting my day and encroaching on writing time, but with a clearer head, I should be full speed ahead on the new book. 

We all need a break now and then. I was overdue, and now I'm ready to fight another day.

 

Refresh/Recharge

The last time I went this long "out of routine" was more than ten years ago. I'd just received a promotion at the day job, which required A LOT of energy and brainpower. I deliberately set the writing aside then to learn how to step into my new role, but it didn't take long for me to realize writing was my outlet after a very stressful day at work. So while I was out of routine with the writing, I was still writing. 

Here's the deal. I have a new book in the works, but finding the focus and time to write has been a challenge. I've had some health intrusions. The Big Guy has had some health anomalies. There is a chaos agent running the country, and I don't deal well with chaos. And the ever present "someone's mad at you" about something you thought was over but apparently isn't, stuff you find out about second hand because the people holding the grudge don't want you to know they're still holding the grudge over a miscommunication that you thought was cleared up, not to mention ...  Oh wait. Not to mention means I'm not going to mention it. Things said and not followed up on, for good reasons, hurt my feelings but being left behind still stings. The last two books I read were semi-duds, so they didn't pick me up. Shall we also talk about the dark days of January? When the sun doesn't come out and you feel like you're buried alive? (How's all that for overdramatizing things?) Oh, wait. Its February. But it's still dark. 

The Big Guy's anomalies are being corrected. I will be having surgery to address my health intrusions which are hopefully nothing more than that - intrusions. I'm headed for sunshine with friends. I'm giving myself some grace and not worrying about being out of routine. Hopefully, when I return from fun in the sun, I'll be refreshed and recharged, and the surgery will provide some downtime to get back INTO routine. 

What doesn't kill you makes good fodder for future books, right? Thanks for hanging out with me through the struggles.