This week I'm going back to the idea of routine. One routine I seem to have gotten into is writing this blog on the night I post it, for example.
Some things fit nicely into a routine. Work is happening at a regular schedule, two different game nights are happening fortnightly, and I'm going through my daily activities according to routine. However, there is always room for improvement.
Part of the idea from last week in getting my schedule organized is getting into a creative routine. Having a dedicated time where I spend some time on me and get the things done that I want to get done. Of course, the first thing one must do in order to dedicate time to an endeavor is to have some time lying around to dedicate.
I was commenting earlier to a co-worker that removing social media from my phone was one of the best things I've done this year because it gave me so much time back that I had been spending gazing a the tiny screen to see what I've been missing in the rest of the world. (The problem is that most of that isn't really what I care about. I don't need to see another advert for online courses or another witty jab at the political regime. I need to spend more time building my worlds; instead of viewing what the algorithms think I should be seeing of the 'real' one.)
So with my newfound time, I've been:
- Enjoying a leisurely breakfast
- Going over my schedule at lunch
- Planning my drive time listening line up
- Writing bits for the story
- And...
...Making little cards to plan out what to do with my time. (It might seem that my execution skills are in need of a bit of sharpening.)
Change, however, is not something that happens over night (small airports in Chicago not withstanding). I've been modifying my morning alarm to be earlier, step by step. Not that I will be getting less sleep; I'm just rearranging my schedule to see if I can't find myself with a happier productivity level. I want to get things done, but in the evening I tend to let things slide in favor of bed. With the modification, I can use that to my advantage and awaken refreshed and perhaps with some new ideas from Nod.
Like all things this year, I'm experimenting to see what works.
Speaking of work, I've been a bit lax in my updates about the writing project. As we are in the fourth fortnight of the year, I should be into the third episode of the serial. At present this is not the case as I have decided to work more on the background of the story. Once cemented, the scenarios should be a little easier to pin down.
In a normal story it isn't necessarily important to pin down the exact year that the last war ended and how far removed our story is from it. When you are writing a time-travel story, however, it becomes a little more essential to keep those details in a continuity.
Everything is in the details.
This week's gaming report:
Family game night postponed; should return on the 27th. We were looking forward to using my new whiteboard for Pictionary, but I guess that'll have to wait.
Played some more Star Wars the Old Republic last week. We're still in the first chapter, but progress is progress. Hopefully I'll get some more in this week and make it more of a regular routine.
And that brings us full circle. A bit of a short ramble this week, but it's been a busy time at work, and wheels are turning on my freelance projects as well. As always, spend your time doing and creating things that enrich your life.
Next week: Testing a new game!