Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice,
rising early in the morning, will be counted as cursing.
~ Proverbs 27:14
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ome people wake up in the morning and say, “Good morning, God!” You know them ~ insufferably cheerful Pollyannas who don’t need a drop of caffeine or a cold shower to shake off the film of sleep.
The rest of us struggle to rise, and if we say anything beyond a grunt, it would translate as “Good God, it’s morning!” For a long time I thought I was a spiritual slacker for greeting a brand new day with such a nasty and ungrateful attitude. However, this little bit of wisdom from Proverbs above rights my world again.
Take that, Mister/Miss Perky! Nyah!
Mornings are a great time for getting things done….Your supply of willpower is fresh after a good night’s sleep.
You have got to be kidding me.
My alarm went off at 4:45 this morning. Do you know how much willpower I had after about six hours of sleep? Just enough to glare at the phone, slide the snooze button, and roll over.
Thunderous applause.
And you want me to get things done?
All right, all right. So I have tried this before. As you can see, it didn’t last long. One part ADD, one part sheer stubbornness, one part love of sleep. One would think I could harness that stubborn energy and apply it to my creativity.
Then number two on Laura’s list of before-breakfast routines sparked my interest: envision a perfect morning? Readers that have been with me for awhile know a little of what that would look like. To write undisturbed for one to two hours. To churn out pages and pages of writerly brilliance. Savoring a pot of tea and a plate of buttered toast. But in the world I live in right now, that type of bliss would entail getting up earlier than the 4:45 alarm.
And by definition that would not be blissful.
However, I certainly need something to help me become more productive. And by productive, I mean actively creative. I can dream it, write it, play it, sing it, craft it. But life ~ or at least the disorganization that is part of my persona ~ seems to shove all those great ideas to the back while I put out yet another fire.
This is no way for a serious creative to live!
Something must be done. I am convinced there is a palatable compromise hidden in Laura’s advice. I just need to find it and try it out for a couple of weeks.
Right after I take a nap.
Oremus pro invicem,
~ Mikaela
Do you follow a set routine? Do you find that it helps you accomplish your goals while reaming open to the creative spark? Or did you find your creativity stifled?
4 comments:
I do my best work in the morning, after getting the engines running with about half a pot of espresso. CS Lewis calls it the cream of the day (mornings, I mean. I don't know what he thought about coffee).
I live by my creativity but I fined having structure is important. I even start most days by actually writing a list of goals to do for that day. Most of my daily lists do end up being far more ambitious than realistic, but the things that I don't manage to do roll over to the next day.
I'm still balancing freelance work and writing (and drawing) my own stuff and this year I've put a premium on doing my most creative stuff in the mornings and the more business-y stuff in the afternoons.
Thank you for a morning chuckle. There is another layer to this subject. Morning people seem to be attracted to night people and vice versa, in some perverse trick the universe plays on us all. Siblings, roommates, spouses, partners all end up with their polar opposite!
I wonder how many crimes have been committed by night people at ungodly hours in the morning.
Ben: I make to do lists once I get to work, and the creative stuff gets left until the late afternoon/evening. But I'm going to try getting up at least with the alarm and seeing if I can get some creative time in before leaving for work.
Barbara: Ha! So true! Actually, my good friend Sullivan's new wife is also a night owl like he is; however, personality-wise and in many other areas, they're opposite. Go figure.
As for crimes, that sounds familiar. I wonder if Criminal Minds did an episode on some sleep disorder crime?
Great post. I referenced this in my post for tomorrow. I am trying to figure out some better time management techniques and found it inspiring that you & Michelle Rafter tackled this Vanderkam book. I appreciated your honesty about how to make it work in your life, too.
Thanks for sharing!
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