It's been a whirlwind week, given the fact that one week ago we found our dream cabin in the Olympic mountains, made an offer and are in the throes of purchasing it. We've had eight days of trips, paperwork, errands, excitement. It's one of those times when life's routines get inverted.Here's what I've discovered, though. No matter how busy I am, or how run down I feel (cough, sniffle), whether in the midst of a joyful adventure or a difficult situation, there's not a lot that can interfere with my writing . . . at 4 in the morning.
There are no phone calls at 4 am. No appointments to be made. Nobody asks me to do anything at 4 am. I don't have to set up meetings, cook, take anybody to the orthodontist, answer questions. The computer and TV screens are dark. There are no Facebook status updates, and my stomach hasn't even thought about being hungry yet. This is when I write.
Blogging can be pushed aside (as you may have noticed), or housecleaning, or fixing my hair. But if I skip the writing, I'm missing too much. Even for a heavy sleeper like me, the refreshment I get from writing is greater than what I'd feel by sleeping through the dawn. And I can usually find time to nap later, when the rest of the world is awake.
We writers can be a bit crazy about getting our writing time. It takes some thought and engineering, but having an untouchable routine is an incredible gift to yourself, especially when life is changing around you.
What can you do, or what have you already done, to establish an untouchable creative routine? What are you willing to sacrifice?
All right, all right. I have to confess. It's not 4 am every morning. Last week, my early writing appointments were at 5 or 5:30...and one morning not until 7.
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