I’m up every morning at the same time. I feed the animals (two cats and a dog), take a shower, then I’m at my desk. Over the course of a day, I split time between writing and investing. But, I’ve learned that to hit my productivity goals, I must start with writing.
Something about the creative process mandates I start the day with it. Otherwise, I’ll find distractions until the day is over. There are days when I’m forced to start with investment work and my writing suffers as a result. And, since publishing Insecticide, I’ve spent more time learning about marketing and self-publishing, and I got off my writing routine.
Now, I’m back, at my desk by 7:30, laptop on… lap, cat snuggled against my leg. As an aside, cats are great for my writing productivity. Once one is asleep in my chair with me, I generally don’t want to move and wake it, so I keep typing away. If I start my day writing, I find myself thinking about it all day and often getting ideas when I’m doing other things. Yesterday, I noticed I washed my hands in a specific way. I hold a bar of soap in my left palm and rotate it with just my left hand until there is a good lather. As a result, my soap ends up looking like a bowtie. I’ve washed that way as long as I can remember, but only became aware of it consciously yesterday because I was thinking about good quirks for my characters to have in the book.
For me, routine drives productivity and the routine must start with writing. For the first time since publishing, I’m back to that routine and have made it to Chapter 3 of the first draft as a result.
-v
Comments