Playing around with writing schedules

I've been playing around with writing schedules. What is the best time to write? Is there such a thing as a night owl? How do you know?

By years of experience, my friends!

When my children were really little it was in the evening. They got off to bed at a good time which left me a good solid two hours to write. I'd go to my desk in the lounge, stick on some music, and get stuck in. At the time I was writing and submitting to Mills and Boon, but I never realised that dream of publication, although not for lack of trying.

But I got into a good rhythm and could work until eleven o'clock and still get a decent seven or so hours sleep.

But with different work and life situations, the late night stuff stopped working. I just couldn't stay awake.

At other times I'd get up early to write, but I'd be going to the loo, getting a coffee, sneaking around to not wake anyone up but sometimes one of the kids would wake up (at six o'clock in the morning when they didn't even need to get up for school until seven) and that was that. It was too frustrating. Plus it was freezing in the winter!! 

At the moment, as my job situation and schedule has changed again, I'm finding that on the days I'm not at my day job, I do best to clear the morning and use that to write. I don't have to get up early, and I have until midday to hopefully write my daily portion. 

This is really working for me. (At the moment!!) 

If I want to write more, I can in the afternoon but it gives me time to do my jobs at home, gardening, visit elderly family, go out with friends for a late lunch (see picture!) and all that other life stuff. Plus there is a sense of achievement in having finished my daily words and editing, one that cannot be taken away. It is done!

I've toyed with doing all my non-writing stuff in the morning to get it out of the way, and then leaving the afternoon free but it was not a good way to do things as I found. I'll explore that in another blog post as its something I'm thinking about quite a lot at the moment.

~ Maddie.

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