I’m a morning person. My most productive time of day falls between six and ten o’clock AM. I hate to even bother getting dressed, because good writing time wanes quickly and I want to use every minute. Except…oh, man, would you look at that sunrise? And if I hang the towels outside before the dew disperses, they’ll be softer, smell better. And it is—oh happy day—going to get hot, so I need to get my walk in early. And—
Well, crap. Before I know it, morning is gone. I’ve done most of the above, but I am disgruntled at that because…well, because it’s after ten and I’m tired and sleepy.
So I do what I have never wanted to do in my entire life: I take a nap. This isn’t quite a habit yet, nor do I really want it to be. It’s something I’ve fought because I deemed it a waste of time. Not to mention the fact that I wake up feeling vaguely hung over. However, I’m discovering that after I’m awake for a while, have drunk a cup or a glass of something and checked my email, something nearly miraculous happens.
I have a second morning. Like most second winds, it’s not as long-lasting or as powerful as the first one, but it’s pretty good. It beats the heck out of sitting on the couch watching television and being cranky. Well, I don’t really watch TV, but I’m good at cranky.
So, after my morning productivity time, I get to have another one in the afternoon. And, yeah, “miraculous” is by way of being a bit of a stretch—just call it literary license—but it’s fun anyway. A good part of the learning curve of not having a day job. I was wondering, as I wrote this, why I had to discover it so late—I could have used the knowledge while I was working. But the truth is, after working a full day, there wasn’t enough of me left for a second wind.
Have great writing days, everybody, whatever your hours may be. It’s 6:05 AM—I have to get busy!
You're definitely talking my language. Wish I could count on a second wind, but if I have all the AM hours, I'm good. Thanks for sharing your thoughts...great to know I'm not the only weirdo writer out here. :-) JRP
ReplyDeleteYeah, and I can't always "count on" it, either, more's the pity. But when I get it, it's so cool!
DeleteI am a morning person too. I try to start the morning before my family wakes up...even the dog is demanding. Unfortunately, I often get sidetracked too. I appreciate your blog too.
ReplyDeleteLOL, Morgan, I had a friend who was up at 4:00 yesterday so she could take care of the cats before the dog woke up!
DeleteI agree on the morning being prime time. I have in the past got a second wind in the evening 6pm or so. I love when that happens, but not often enough.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Suzanne. Same thing with sewing, too. I have occasionally sewed (sewn?) until past midnight and loved every stitch--just can't count on it happening.
DeleteI'm always up and at 'em by 6:00 am, but I'm not a morning person when it comes to writing--I do my best thinking and writing late at night. Some music and a quiet household and I'm in the zone. I do my editing gigs in the daytime, but I do confess to a 20-minute power nap around 2 pm. Otherwise, I'm smacking my face into my monitor when I fall asleep at my worktable...ouch!!
ReplyDeleteYeah, that monitor is hard! I do blog posts and even some plotting in the afternoon--maybe this explains why my plotting so sucks!
DeleteI'm relearning my time issue; it used to be I was finished with chores and errands by 11am and settled down to write until 2:30. Now I get up at 7, do my online stuff until 10, THEN get dressed and do the errands, feeling a bit panicky at times because 'the day's half over!'
ReplyDeleteBut after taking last week to decompress and 'chill out' about my desire to have a 'productive' day (be 'finished' with the majority of my work and relaxing by 2:30), I've discovered my friends will still be around if I email/fb/tweet later in the day and don't feel so 'left behind'. Just going through a paradigm shift....and being pulled through it kicking and screaming, lol:)
I know what you mean, Molly, although I like that little feeling of wickedness when I do things off-schedule. (I'm really boring--it doesn't take much to excite me. :))
ReplyDeleteOMG too funny - your description is my habit exactly. I have no guilt about the nap- I come from a long line of nappers :-)
ReplyDeleteHi, Kylie. My big problem with the nap is that I'm afraid I'll miss something!
DeleteI think we have opposite time clocks, Liz!! I'm such a night owl my DH and I rarely go to sleep at the same time..usually we're separated by hours!! BUT I'll agree with you on the nap, it is verra under-rated!!
ReplyDeleteMy DH and me, too, Kristi, and it's a good thing, because I need quiet to work and the quiet ends when he gets up!
DeleteHi, Liz~
ReplyDeleteI'm a night owl. Love to work late in the night, after midnight is best. I've napped all my adult life. I have to, and I don't consider it a waste of time at all.
I've just never been much of a sleeper, and if I could figure out a way to avoid it altogether, I would. Like I said, I might miss something!
DeleteMy FIL was a power-napper. He could sit down, fall deep asleep for 10 minutes, and wake on his own fully refreshed--if I could nap that way, I'd really like it.
I'm one of those "I'll get to it" people who suffer pangs of guilt when I have written for a day. Promos take a good bit of time, but retirement meant a complete revamp of time to write. I'm finding afternoons are great. Lunch is finished, DH is napping, housework (How I hate that word) is complete and I can write. Supper is just a snack or two, so I can write from two to six. Napping is bad for me. Then I can't sleep at night. I watch the clock spin past 4 am and groan. Takes days to recover. No naps for me!
ReplyDeleteI love any uninterrupted time! Promo is way too time-consuming, isn't it? Also increasingly necessary. Thanks for coming by, Allison!
DeleteTo have a second morning sounds very Hobbit-like Liz. I may need to take up your habit this summer when school lets out since I have my best creative thoughts when I wake up.
ReplyDeleteGood idea, Karen. I hope it works for you!
DeleteI'm a night owl. I get up early on weekdays because I have to go the day job, and mumble the whole morning. Something about the night hours soothe me,esp in the summer time when it's not cold after dark.
ReplyDeleteI LIKE the night, the warmth of summer nights and the coziness of winter ones--I'm just completely non-productive during them. I'm like you are in the morning, Shawn: there but mumbling. :-)
DeleteI'm also most productive in the morning. That's why if it weren't for my family, I'd choose to close most of the time, because I can write in the morning before I go to work. When I work days, I'm usually too tired--emotionally and physically--to muster the energy to write.
ReplyDelete