Each monday morning starts with an intention to write. I may be drafting with my head on the pillow then, propped up with my coffee. he thought of writing is there.
Monday is such a bad day to write — really. My list is so full of things to be done this week. I will write as soon as I get them done. he writing — the sitting down part of writing — will be much better.
Tuesday is the worst day for writing. I could get up early and write before I start work for the day. But, that is supposed to be the time I go to the gym. I’ve stopped going to the gym on Tuesday mornings? Why? I do not like showering at the gym and blow-drying my hair in the bathroom. It ruins the whole day.
I don’t have time to come back home on Tuesdays to shower and blow dry my hair properly. I really can’t write on Tuesday mornings because that is the time I am not going to the gym.
Wednesdays are unpredictable. I go to bible study in the evening. This puts a hard stop on my day. Before Bible study, I must make dinner. Before dinner, I must tidy up and prepare for Thursday. Before tidying up, I pick up my son — in the sluggish carpool line. Before that, I am too busy trying to avoid all the busy things that will happen after the busy-ness. You can see why Wednesdays are bad for writing.
On Thursdays, I have loads of time to write. I go to the gym early and come home to shower. I blow dry my hair properly. This means I feel much better by the time I sit down at my desk to write.
I have an uninterrupted block of time between 8 am and noon for projects. These are business projects (less for clients) — Administration and all those things that must be done to keep doing the other work.
it’s also a block of time that is unscheduled. That is perfect time to schedule things. Getting my teeth cleaned. Taking a client phone call. Answering that request for information. Anything that bubbles up goes there in the unscheduled block.
This makes me sit on the edge of my seat. The edge of my seat is the worst position for writing. In fact, it is an impossible writing position. Interruptions and writing mix like oil and water.
Fridays should be calmer than Mondays. Monday started with a list and that list is done. However, projects came in between Monday and Friday. Then, there is the problem of what I hear is “the social life”. I am supposed to be places and see people — often on a Friday. I wouldn’t want to go and do those things if they were on another day. But, Friday is a convenient scapegoat.
In fact, the anticipation of “the social life” creates a writing cramp. This is not writer’s block. I do not suffer from that. Writers cramp is a clenching caused by the concern that the writing will need to stop at some point. That clench makes it hard to write altogether.
Saturdays also start with the gym. I go there early — 6 am at the latest. It’s a pious time — 6 am at a gym on a Saturday. I feel so pious exercising at that ungodly hour that I am filled with creative energy. I run on the elliptical machine and brainstorm. I stretch and outline. I lift some free weights and write myself texts with notes.
This makes my gym sessions untenably long. Of course, I am exhausted by the time I come home for a warm shower. I always eat something awful on Saturday mornings — something warm and sticky that makes me sleepy. I do not blow dry my hair because it’s Saturday.
You can see how it is impossible to start writing like this. It’s 8 am. The day is wide open. My belly is full. My hair is damp and free. I look a mess but, piously messy (glowing even). I cannot concentrate on a slavish indoor task. I must go outside and explore the world. It will be good for the writing — freeing my mind down to my fingertips.
Then, it’s Sunday and I’m going to church. Sitting in church is an exercise of quelling the wandering mind. I hear there are people who enjoy worshiping during the service and sit with rapt attention to whatever the preacher has to say. I do not. I make lists in my head — usually off-topic. I spend the hour of Sunday morning actively not making lists in my head and focusing on the service. It is awful preparation for writing. After is lunch and all those things that must be done before Monday. I do not know how we get from church to tucking into bed at night.
All I know is that it is the worst time for writing.
It seems the best time for writing is whenever I’m supposed to be doing an urgent project, with my laptop during meals, and in the middle of the night when I cannot sleep but have an important meeting the next morning. Those are, in fact, the times for writing.
