WEEKLY WRITER'S PATH #8
SOMEONE ONCE ASKED ME, How would you describe your ideal day? Years ago I knew the answer immediately: write in the morning and garden in the afternoon. That simple. I have not changed my answer in years, though these days I am asking the question in earnest.
In fact, my new, not-yet-implemented schedule looks like this:
5:30 – 6:30 am: Up. Walk. Write.
6:30 – 7:00 am: Get Asher to Bus.
7:00 – 8:00 am: Shower. Pack up computer.
8:00 – 9:00 am: Drive Colin to school. Stop for muffins and coffee. Get to office.
9:00 – 10:00 am: Work on personal business.
10:00 – 3:00 pm: Work for money.
3:00 – 4:30 pm: My writing life.
4:30 – 5:30 pm: Appreciating natural beauty.
5:30 – 6:00 pm: Get home.
6:00 – 9:00 pm: Family time.
9:00 – 10:00 pm: Read, computer games, budget.
10:00 pm: Bed.
There’s no lunch break in there; power bars and vitamin waters at the desk will have to do. There’s no office yet to put the desk in, but this is a work in progress. I have not yet stopped working at 3 pm and the last time I went to bed at 10:00 was because I was up ‘til four the night before. But I do get to do things that fit into my writing life: sending off a non-fiction piece, brainstorming more agents, contacting a possible article source. And appreciating natural beauty can be anything from hiking in the hills to picking up the blowing trash in the back yard.
I made one small step today; I stopped working on my client’s posters at 6:00 pm, even though I could have done more for tomorrow’s meeting. Even though I was messing with gorgeous images of white cone flowers, creeping thyme and weeping winter jasmine. The trick is in understanding there is always more work to do, but not always time to write. One day, I hope to be doing a whole lot less. Like just writing and gardening.
