Although this is posting about one month and one week into my three-month challenge, I’ve written it back only a day or two after the one month mark. I wasn’t going to do this check-up but in light of changes in my life I think it is necessary.
Last night, as I was laying in bed, trying to get to sleep, I thought of why I was having such a hard time suddenly keeping to my schedule now that I’ve settled into the new house. The move itself was fine, and nothing went wrong and I was able to write during that period. I’m now up to almost 60k in writing for the novel, which is behind schedule but still on course to actually get this novel done in time.
But the week since my move has been filled with very little writing. Maybe a thousand words over the course of the entire week. And I just could not figure out why that was the case, sure I had moved, and things had changed around but I could still keep to what I had been doing before. Until I realized something rather important.
I couldn’t keep to the same schedule because I was no longer just scheduling MY time. With my move to my new place, I also moved in with my girlfriend. And while we’ve been dating and known each other for some time, there is also an entirely new dynamic to deal with when it comes to having another person part of your daily life. I imagine it’s a bit like if I had a kid, except with less whining, and chaos.
Introducing a new person into my life, meant that each day I have to set a different schedule and keep to it, based on what schedule my partner is handling. The more we learn and develop our ability to communicate I imagine this will turn into at least a week or two ahead of schedule, but otherwise, I haven’t been able to keep to my schedule because I have to account for her in my life, her in my time. I can’t come home at 10pm anymore and make dinner for myself, because that’s bed time for her, and I’ve learned long ago that you should always go to bed at the same time as the people you are sleeping in a bed with.
At the same time, I can’t sleep til 8am either, but I can’t get my normal activities done at 6am since she is getting ready for work at that time. It seems like little things, but they add up fast. And one mess up in the schedule makes a lot of it inert. This requires an adjustment for me, and a change with the schedule to account for someone new in my life. But I can’t set something strict in this case, I have to be flexible or I lose time with her and with myself.
So my schedule will be more like:
Wake up each day when my partner does, because she always gets up earlier than my body wants to.
Take care of my bathroom needs after my partner has gotten ready for work, on the days she has work.
During the time she is getting ready for work, eat breakfast, make bed, and check up on social media, and write blog posts or freelance work posts or read.
If she is leaving for work, after she leaves get ready with a shower and other bathroom needs.
If she isn’t leaving for work, get ready, but don’t shower unless stinky as all hell.
If she left for work, leave after getting ready and go to the nearby wifi area to start on writing the book.
If she didn’t leave for work, stay home and check up on what she is going to do for the day or what she wants to do. Decide from there when the best time to write will be in a three-hour block period.
Go to bed when my partner does, because she does it earlier than I would.
Together with all of this in mind for my schedule, I’ve also informed my partner about what it is I need to get done with this schedule in mind. That each day I need to have around 3 hours where I can sit and write at the very minimum. I think this will help create areas where I can work better from then on and it has created an environment where we are forcing ourselves to have time away from each other, because I have to write.
So onward to get this novel finished!
