WRITING | PRODUCTIVITY | SELF
4 Reasons I Will Stick To An Early Morning Routine As A Writer
#4 Productivity — it is just one of them.
The biological clock works differently for each of us. Still, the circadian rhythm resets itself into a way that suits the habits, routines and practices that we have instilled into our daily life. With an essentially plastic brain, there is nothing that we cannot adapt to. Getting used to is a survival technique that humans have used since long back.
For years, I thought I was a night-owl. I believed I could not change that. I performed best at night. I delayed my sleep and wrote past midnight. I read into the early hours. But it was not like I had the next day to rest. I was a student then. And my health started paying.
Even after getting married, being a mother, a physician and a writer, I still didn’t try to change it. But some time earlier this year, I realized I had to change something because my health was no better. I felt tired all the time. Things were going downhill, even though I had completed my second novel and begun planning a third one within the first year of publishing my debut novel.
That’s when I decided to try switching times. I decided on a few reformations. I have been suffering from hormonal imbalance since twelve years, from PCOS, which is a physical and emotional roller coaster ride. And one of the hardest part of this condition is the unending fatigue. No matter how many hours I sleep, I seldom wake up refreshed and recharged. I have to battle fatigue, lack of energy and depression for at least half of a month. But at worst, it goes on for over a month or two. And let’s not even think about exercising!
I knew the first step had to be “Early to bed.” So, I decided on switching off mobile data and network early on, preparing to sleep a little bit earlier than usual, getting my kid to sleep early so that the next school morning wouldn’t be crazy, and waking up early to do all that I hadn’t stayed up to do the previous night. And I began.
I would go to bed around 11 PM and wake up around 5.45 AM. It is not too early but I did not want to stress my body. I would perform the pre-dawn prayer and instead of sinking back to my bed like I usually do, I would sit down to write (work on my novel then). I would write a chapter on good days or just revise what I had written already on bad days. I put in some effort towards my passion, either way.
So here are four reasons that I will stick to the early morning routine as a writer.
Tranquility
There is a serenity that is exclusive to the beginning of a day. A calmness gently broken by birds chirping, as the world wakes up. This peaceful hour is so essential for someone who is juggling three to four roles in a day. Before the day sets in and the chores take over the clock, being a tad bit early can really put me some time ahead of things.
I would fix a cup of cafe-au-lait and sit before my laptop, earnestly opening my manuscript. Any residue of sleep in my eyes would evaporate at that moment. I would type away or edit my completed manuscript. I fell in love with this routine and I will go back to it whenever things seem haphazard.
Guilt-free creativity
The beginning of a day lets you begin a new page in your life. It’s like you have a chance to start over and get things done. The best thing about getting your writing done first thing in the morning is that you can have a guilt-free day. Wondering how? If you are like me, handling multiple roles and jobs, chances are you think of your writing (because it is also a passion) all the time. And this is not easy on days you have not carved out time to write.
On days I have not written, I am wrought with guilt by the end of the day and throughout the day, I am distracted and often grumpy at myself for not doing what I should be doing. Sometimes, I am grumpy at others as well. I found it helped me to do my quota of writing even if it is just for ten minutes or a page, before the day began rolling. That way, I would be able to free myself from guilt for not having written and the rest of the day feels pretty sprite because, regardless of the quantity, I am glad that I have succumbed to my need to write and any writing I might do later in the day is a bonus.
This also boosts creativity because it is important to be focused, confident and calm to be productive on a regular basis.
Clarity
Sleep repairs, resets and rejuvenates our body and mind. A good night’s sleep fixes a lot of things. During sleep, the less important things like unwanted information, memories and non-prioritized thoughts, which have created synapses in your brain (everything committed to your brain creates new synapses) undergo deletion or synaptic pruning.
This is crucial for mental clarity. Clarity allows you to perform better because you have the space in your head to think better. The equation is pretty simple. Also there aren’t scores of other things on your mind early in the morning.
Productivity
Productivity thrives on routine, habituation and prioritization. When we stick to a habit, it becomes a lifestyle. Same goes for productivity. It is fine to take breaks but once we get used to getting things done, it turns into a necessity. We find time to get them done.
Most of the go-getters and successful authors you have read and heard of follow an early morning routine to write their books. Be it Murakami, Stephen King or Dan Brown, they have produced novel after novel because they stuck to a strict writing routine. These authors wake up in the early hours to begin their writing for the day.
I have never imagined waking up at 4 AM to write, because often I slept around 2 AM. That sure doesn’t predict much productivity. What does is an early morning. I’m still working on it and sometimes, my world turns topsy-turvy and I have to get along with it. But these four are reasons enough for me to get back to an early morning routine after a break and to stick to it.
Time is a tricky thing and it works differently to each of us. Early birds and night owls are real. Both are fine as long as you do what you must do — write. There are also days when midday is the best time for me to work. But once I tasted the serenity, clarity and absence of guilt after an early morning at my work-in-progress, I found that, that’s the routine I long for and wish to go back to every time I go off track.
So what’s your time?
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Sana Rose is an award-nominated novelist, poet, physician, counseling professional, freelance writer and mom. She is based out of Kerala, India. Her debut novel ‘Sandcastles’ was shortlisted for ARL Literary Awards 2018 for Best Author soon after publication.
