I am a student, which makes me many things. The upside to being a student is the flexible schedule. I may have three days of early classes and four days off. I may have to get up at 7am three days and be able to sleep until noon (which I don’t like doing) the other four days.
The downside of being a student is the lack of routine. I don’t like the splatter-paint approach to getting things done. There is little lead time allowed when I need to remember five to ten cases worth of reading for the next day’s class. Thus, reading ahead is a thing of the past, replaced with a chaotic sprint reading session that leaves me burned out. Being burned out everyday gets old, but that is the approach that has come to work for me over the past two years of studying the law.
I don’t want routine, so much as the ability to sit in silence when I need to. I read best very early in the morning. From 5am to 8am. During these hours there are no possible distractions. But it is more than that. I am able to hone in and read efficiently. My well-rested mind is fresh and receptive to the words on the page. As the day runs on, my ability and desire to read anything greatly diminishes.
I am most creative and write best late at night. From 10pm to 3am. I discovered this in undergrad when, regardless of early classes, and sometimes because of them if there was a deadline to meet, I would write just to write with a single favorite song on repeat and the lights turned off. It was during these hours that I could develop a rhythm and maintain a flow — two very cliche words, I know. There is more possibility for me in the silence of the night than there is in the rushed noise of the day.
My writing is not an efficient process. I am neither quick nor accurate on my first attempts at expressing what I have to say. Instead, I chip away. I love reading what I write. I like hearing it in my head and out loud. A successful phrase is the catalyst of my insomnia.
Aside from studying, writing, and other work, my day is, as I have said above, often scrambled. I make a point to eat breakfast and dinner. A snack suffices between. Since the beginning of this past summer I have worked out semi-regularly (far more regularly than ever before in my life). I appreciate the workouts. They relieve stress and tire me out.
This post was inspired by what may be my new favorite blog — Daily Routines — which collects insights into the daily routines of writers, artists, and other interesting people.