I will be writing soon.
On a book and everything.
Maybe even my current book.
The question is what delayed me?
After all, the week began three days ago.
And Wensday's such an awkward day to begin.
The week's half gone & it's not even spelled correctly.
Friday, my ADDaboy! writing day, is right around the corner.
That means I have to park my novel for another spell of blogging.
The more I think about it, the more I realize that I am not happy about this.
Wait, wasn't there a question? Right. What delayed me? I think I have the answer.
This is a TweetStats chart of my Twitter activity for @SplinteredMind. @DouglasCootey shares similar stats, but is less active. The chart is a great visual record of when I’m awake. In short, I’m working at the wrong times of the day, and I’m taking too long to get fired up and working.
As you can see, my sleep schedule is turned around again. By the time I go to write, the girls are home and, unlike many supermom writers that I know, I can't write and watch kids at the same time. It’s one or the other, and usually the other wins.
First thing every morning I catch up on news with Twitter and blogs. I eat. I get ready for the day. Then the girls come home. I take care of them and, if I’m not ticking, I drive them around. Any work I do is stretched out in fits and starts. Then in the evening when the girls are in bed, I tweet less and work more, but I’m tired after taking care of kids for six to eight hours. Everything I work on takes forever to finish. This blog took four hours with all the distractions. Yes, I did other things, but it’s not an optimal schedule for my mind.
As much as I enjoy the quiet serenity of the night owl life, the only time I can truly write uninterrupted with full energy is when the girls are at school. In order to do that, however, I need to be awake and writing first in my day, not last.
This gives me three goals to work on:
- Turn my sleep schedule around. (Insomnia)
- Write at the right time of day without distractions (ADHD)
- Lastly, as I mentioned the other day, write the ADDaboy! articles faster. (ADHD)
I’ll revisit these stats in a month’s time to see how I’m doing (I'll likely need reminders). I either learn how to master my ADHD & Insomnia, or I’ll never finish my books. The only other alternative is to be A-OK with underachieving. No thank you.
