I’ve been contemplating the efficacy of schedules. I’ve set a new one for myself, and I’m finding it very… well, I guess soothing is the word. Partly I’ve had to do this because I have a number of projects on my plate, some with very tight deadlines. I also need to work out so I can ride the enormous Fresian, and I have to walk Vento twice a day and ride Maarten. So, messing around is not an option.
I’ve started getting up at 6:30 and getting to the health club at 7:00 when they open. There are only a handful of people in the place, and watching sunrise through the big windows is very pleasant. I then come home and eat breakfast. Research has indicated that you eat less if you eat after exercise, and that your body doesn’t absorb as many of the calories, so it’s a win all around.
I then make a cup of tea or coffee and head in to write. I work until 12:30 or 1:00 eat a light lunch, and head to the barn to care for the horses. Then home, clean up, write some more on a different project, and go back to the barn to walk Vento for a final time.
Where this gets tough is when I have to go into town to run errands. Errands are the bane of a writer’s existence. Grocery shopping, going to the Post Office, stopping by the hardware store because something has broken, buying pet food. I want a wife. Or a Ty. Or a house husband.
This wouldn’t be such a disaster for me if I could ever become a night writer, but I just can’t. By 7:30 or 8:00 I’m ready to watch some television, read a book, and then hit the rack by 11:00 pm. Basically, I’m a morning person. The only exception is when I’m nearing the end of a project, and I get really jazzed and excited. Then my brain cells can keep firing.
I think some of the satisfaction of a schedule is that you can tick off the accomplishments each day, and that makes you feel good about yourself. I also know that research supports the notion that children do better when they have set schedules — they learn better and their emotional state remains steadier. I can also say that horses do better when they have a set schedule too. I think everything does better when they/ it has a job to do, and does it.
One of the dangers for a freelance writer is that you lose this sense that “you have a job to do”, and you get that confused with “making art”. I try to make art, but mostly, I do my job. And really, it’s for other people to say whether it’s art or not.
