In order to find a better mid-week writing window amid full-time work commitments, I am trying something a little different this week. I am taking my baby computer with me into work, and writing in a cafe before I arrive in the office.
That is, I did so this morning and intend to repeat the event tomorrow. My work circumstances have recently changed, meaning that I’m in the office rather later than before. Yet in order to beat the peak-hour rush, I’ve been taking the same train and reading in a cafe over a coffee — then it occurred to me that I could write instead.
I have had some good success writing before work (at home) in the past, but that was when I started work at 9am and the office was under 4km from home. Although I maintain that I am not a morning person, it is undeniable that my mind is fresher and the words come more freely in the early hours, before my head is cluttered with work stuff.
I really like starting the day knowing I’ve already put at least some words down on the page. Utilising the mornings helps ensure that I write every day, and even improves the likelihood that I’ll continue on in the evening.
Unfortunately, the pre-work time-window is not long enough! It was hard this morning to drag myself away and into the office . . . Maybe I’ll find myself taking an even earlier train soon, just to make my efforts pay!
E V Gregory 