Last week I mentioned that I have been pretty consistent with writing my blog over the last few years…but that doesn’t mean it has always been easy, infact, many weeks I have found it difficult to squeeze it in.  Or maybe I just get lazy and my inner procrastinator just wants to watch TV instead…

Recently, I have felt a bit frustrated because I feel like I haven’t been able to carve out the time I would like to just sit and write.   I like to say that saying you “don’t have enough time” is silly because, it just means you haven’t prioritised things right,  but needless to say, I am struggling to find the right place to slot writing into my days.

Something I have acknowledged of late is that just because you like doing something,  doesn’t mean you are always motivated to do it.  I always feel great when I’ve done exercise,  but 90% of the time I really have to force myself to get started with it.  It is kinda the same with writing.

That’s why, first thing in the morning is when i do my exercise.   I try to get it done before my brain wakes up and thinks “wait! I don’t want to do this?!?!”.  If I move quickly enough,  I’ll be out the door with my sneakers on before that mental process kicks in..and well…by then I may as well keep going.

So I need to find the same kind of spot for my writing.   A time each day or a couple of days a week when it just happens,  and I don’t think too much…just get it done.  I would love to squeeze it somehow into my mornings because that is the time of day when my brain is most on fire.   But there isn’t quite enough time.

Kelly Exeter recently wrote a post “why I get up so early”  where she talks about getting up at 4.15am in order to write and do exercise before her family gets up.  Part of me is totally inspired by this and thinks I should give it a go… part of me is exhausted even thinking about it, 4.15am…is that really what I need to do??

I had to get up at 5am three times a week for several weeks just recently,  to join a global teleconference on a big project.   At first it felt a little ludicrous,  but actually having all that extra time in the morning (the call only went for 30min) was really great.  Plus,  having the incentive of a work call to drag me out of bed, ensured there was no lying in bed thinking shall I or shan’t I?    It was awesome….for a while…. then it started to catch up on me.  And although I was going to bed earlier,  I was started to get tired.  Plus, snuggling into bed with my husband is my favourite part of the day, and I was going to bed so early I was asleep before he even came to bed.

I guess I could squeeze some writing into the evenings, between when the kids go to bed and when I start watching trashy tv with the husband.   But I’m always so tired by the end of the day and my brain is just not functioning.  Plus, I have usually been sitting and staring a computer screen all day for work and so it is the last thing I feel like doing.

I could try hand writing?  Nah, you should see my hand writing and I can type so much faster.

I could shift out my exercise in the morning, but I really miss the refresh and reboot that happens when I exercise first thing in the morning.   And lets face it, if I don’t do it in the morning chances are pretty high I won’t do it later.

OK…so here’s the compromise,  maybe two or three (who am kidding, lets make it two),  mornings a week I will get up at 5.30am (normally I get up at 6am, so this is not a huge stretch).  I will do a short 30min exercise sprint of some sort…then do writing for an hour.   Of course, this relies on the kids not being out of bed before 7am,  which was happening on a regular basis but daylight savings really stuffs that up (now I remember having a similar challenge at the same time last year…you can read about it my blog post “Daylight Savings I Don’t Like You Very Much”..)…

This is all part of the juggling,  constantly reassessing what I can fit in and when.  Checking in to ensure that I am finding the time for the things that are important.  And usually,  it takes a while to figure out how to make it work…but with a little shifting and shaking…I find a routine that works… for a little while, before I’m shifting it all again.

What are you trying to squeeze into your schedule which you know is important but perhaps has fallen off the priorities recently?