Day 129 of 365: Sticklers to Routine

In the weeks following NaNoWriMo, I've found myself getting a bit lackadaisical. It was getting harder and harder to get anything done, from household chores to updating my blog. I figured it was the emotional fallout of pushing myself to my writing limit. But one week or this has started morphing into two weeks and I decided it was time to nip this problem in the bud.


First step? Re-establish a routine. The reason why I was so intense with yoga and tai chi while still working full-time was because I had a very established routine. Exactly one snooze on the alarm clock, followed by making coffee, followed by a yoga sequence and at least one form practice, followed by a shower, followed by getting ready and finally drinking that wonderful coffee (which, ironically, I didn't really need after exercising and showering, but an addiction is an addiction). And I had the same routine when I came home for break: clear the sink of any dishes (or unload the dishwasher) before having any lunch.


Routines are vital for the human brain. It's why they say routine is so important for little kids (something a good chunk of the parents whose children I looked after never really seemed to get but that's for another time). If there is a routine you can stick to, you're more likely to do whatever it is that you need to do, as opposed to getting it done randomly throughout the day.


So I'm back at it. Yoga every morning, no excuses. One tai chi form practice right after that, no excuses. And then I write in this lovely blog, no excuses. And then I work on my novels or my collection of modeling essays. If writing is more or less my main job right now, I need to treat it like a main job. And that means getting to my "office" (aka the kitchen island) at a proper time and logging in the hours, even if I don't feel like it. Writing is my main gig, with tai chi and modeling as part-time jobs. Not the other way around. I desperately want to get this collection of essays out in time for spring, and I'm still holding out hope that I can sell a manuscript before it comes times to try for children.


I'm easily distractible (as evidence that I've gone on five different sites while writing this entry), so a solid routine is what I need to kick my ass into gear. The nice thing is, much like a kid, I could totally schedule in a no-if-ands-or-buts nap for after lunch (because, like a kid, I find every excuse not to nap, even when I'm exhausted).