Writing Routines

I am a writer...I write. Most days, it's a tug of war between my neverending to-do list and my need to sit at my desk for an hour or two and get some words down on the page. This tension is not new, though I do think mother-writers feel it more acutely.

Over the last year or so I've developed some routines to help me be as intentional about writing as I am about reading. 

For me, writing in public is almost impossible. I start to graft the people and conversations around me into whatever I'm working on. I get easily distracted. I drink waaaay too much coffee and buy waaaay too many books (Barnes and Noble is wonderful but also terrible).

So home is where the writing is. 

I have a space of my own in the sitting room part of our bedroom. It has a desk and bookshelves that I kind of hate but they get the job done. The walls are great and I cover them in sticky-note reminders and inspirational quotes. The best part of this space is that there is a door (to the bedroom part...but still) and I can leave papers all over the desk and books stacked on the floor without worrying about cleaning them up if I get interrupted. 

Having a place to write is important, but finding the time to write is key.

Years ago I called my husband crying about how frustrated I was by my schedule.

"I can't get it all done. And I don't have time for the things I really want to do," I said. 

He said that he had found the best schedules to be seasonal since every season brings change. 

"It needs to be flexible. And remember, you get to decide what goes into it. So if you
want time for knitting, use your time for knitting."

Those words have helped me over the years as I've made schedules for myself and my kids.

When I was coming up with a writing schedule I again considered his advice:

⭐️ I am flexible with my writing. There are some days I just cannot write whether it's because of a time drain or an emotional drain. That's ok. I am finding that the more I prioritize writing the fewer of these days there are, but they still exist. When this happens, I let go of it and think about something worthwhile I did in place of writing. 

⭐️ I decide. This was hard for me. When friends text to see if I'm free for lunch or a walk I don't automatically say yes. When out-of-town guests visit during the week, I can tell them I need to work while they go sightseeing. I choose if writing is more important to me than getting in a workout. It's up to me if I use an hour after dinner for reading, writing, or TV.

⭐️ I make my schedule seasonally. A lot of what's scheduled stays the same, but I change it up a bit with every season. In the summer we wake up later and I take the kids to swim team first thing. Afternoons in the spring and fall are full of activities and concerts. Winter brings a slower pace and more time inside. Life is not static and neither are my routines.

What this looks like daily for me right now is:

9:30-11:30--Nothing but work. No appointments or meetings. No time with friends or phone calls. Except when there is an emergency or something more important than writing comes up.

I take a break for lunch and then see what I can get done between 12:30-2. It might be reading or a nap or finishing up a blog post. The point of this time is to get something done that I both want and need to do before the kids start rolling through the door at 2:10. 

If I don't write in either of these time slots I try to get at least two pages down in my journal either in the morning or at night. Journaling--or emptying my brain on paper without worrying about someone else reading it--is the best thing I do for my mental health so I try to prioritize it over just about everything else. When I write in my journal it's like I'm securing my own oxygen mask before helping my loved ones on a plane with dropping pressure.

I take weekends off mostly. Once in a while, we'll have a very relaxed Saturday with nowhere to be and in that case, I'll pull out my laptop. 

I keep a list of projects to work on so when I'm in a rut I can pick something different to work on, but still keep working. 

In summer my schedule will change and my biggest chunk of writing will be in the afternoon. I'll bring my journal with me to the pool in the mornings. 

My writing routines are pretty simple but they help me get the work done. 

Do you write? What are your routines?