WriteLife
This past month has been tough for me, writing-wise. Our lockdown continues to drag on, with a stubborn tail of cases trailing on into what feels like eternity. And all my usual routines are gone. A typical day for me would consist of waking up and getting to work for 8am. Then I’d float between lab work and desk work until home time. On the way home, I’d hit the pool. Then make dinner and settle into writing—a nice change of pace from my busy day. My mind would be clear and ready to relax into our fictive world.
This lockdown changed everything. In the past four lockdowns, I was still able to do limited lab work and keep some semblance of my usual routine. This time, it was different. It was stricter. No leaving the house except for essential exercise and groceries. No takeaways. No travelling more than 5km from your house. Strict. Which meant my active routines evaporated. In the morning, I worked (well tried to work) in living room. And for a change of scenery, in the afternoon I would ‘work’ in the dining room. By the time evening rolled around, the last thing I wanted to do was write some more— had spent my whole day writing for work in all the interesting rooms of my house. And it felt there was no where left go.
Despite all the frustration of the lockdown, I did manage to make some forced progress. Mostly on the weekend, where there was nothing else do (literally). But 3000 words in a 5-week lockdown is hardly productive!
This week, however, our lockdown eased slightly (thankfully). I’m permitted to go work, albeit with stringent rules. Everything else remains closed, but I am looking forward to getting some routine back in my life. And to get out of the house. Mostly to leave the house.
Hopefully, this next month will be more productive, writing-wise.
How do you cope when your writing routine is thrown into disarray? Let me know in the comments below.
-A
LabLife
Still in lockdown folks.
-A
I can’t imagine having that strict of a lockdown. But then America is weird. We are fighting over the merits of masks and vaccines. *huge eye roll here*
I recently got off track with my routine. And I just allowed it. I think my mind needs to be unfettered every once in a while. NaNoWriMo is coming up in November, and I will be disciplined once again by then. For me, deadlines imposed and otherwise, are what do it for me. I tend to hyperfocus, so having a target to hit always gets me into a routine regardless what’s happening outside my little abode.
Not everyone is like this. My husband had an awful time during lockdown last year. He couldn’t get into a routine. He just couldn’t do it. Me? I thrived on it.