And then, sometimes, you remember you have a blog.

This week, I’ve been thinking a lot about routines. Thanks to some (mostly political) changes at the day job, I’ve tried to reset my schedule, and I’ve been taking that as a jumping-off point to shake up a lot of my other routines, as well.

Sleep, for example. For years now, I’ve been running on 20-hour days, and getting an average of four hours of sleep a night. I’m trying to bump that up to the 5.5 to 6 hour range. It’s not been easy — there have been a couple of nights this week where I got two or less hours. Humans are resistant to change.

But just because something doesn’t work out right away isn’t a reason to abandon the project (at least, in my opinion). You need to give yourself time to adjust.

It’s like writing with a day job, which most writers do. You have to figure out a compromise where you feel you’re getting enough writing done without too many other things — work, time with loved ones, basic nutrition, sleep — taking too much of a hit. It’s a balancing act, and I’m still trying to prioritize and figure out how to work everything in. It would just be much easier if we could change the standard solar day to 26 hours. Someone get on that for me.

So what about you, folks? What schedule works for you? I’m open to suggestions.

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