What a great read, I’m also fascinated by other writers’ habits and processes. Thank you for this insight into yours!
I heard that - I think it was Steven Pressfield - sits at his desk every single day at 9am to write (I wonder if that’s still true!)
Anyhoo, I tried that once, I mean for about 3 or 4 consecutive days, bored the shit out of me to be so punctual and available to my work, so I soon rebelled against it and never looked back.
Also, I think that kind of discipline is so masculine, my body just isn’t into it.
Lol - I find it’s only men who stick to such rigid routines and I think it’s usually because they’re being supported at home by a partner in order to be that rigid 🙃
Interesting take on masculinity. I've struggled massively with routine my whole life. I think it's more to do with how your brain is wired. If you're more of an architect / designer in your creativity, I think you'd benefit from a routine. If you're more a gardener / dreamer in your creativity, I reckon you struggle.
I get the masculinity thing though - because the drive for optimisation is a topic so many 'tech bros' drool over. It's not my jam, that's for sure!
I get working hard, but when that starts to become part of your identity...that's when it's not cool.
Thank you for sharing such a human post! It’s a breath of fresh air to read a piece that feels both vulnerable and confident. The world needs to hear more stories like this that showcase our humanness and our real reality shared with an unapologetic voice. Well done ❤️❤️❤️
Such a refreshing read first thing in the morning! Although I’m very attracted to the romantic notion of a perfect “writing routine/day”, reality has other ideas. Maybe when I can go away on a retreat again … Until then, we just make it work!
I love this! I do wake early but never use the time to write - I need to have done some movement, had breakfast & several cups of very strong tea before my brain’s ready.
And while I read lots, it’s mostly memoir & non-fiction, & if I want fiction, I usually find film a more satisfying medium.
Like you, I can also easily write all day (& certainly don’t write every day), especially if at a later editing stage.
Oh that’s so interesting that you prefer film to novels. I actually have a whole different routine for editing which I didn’t even mention. I always go to a totally different location to edit if possible - usually the British Library!
This is great - I find other people’s writing routines so interesting. Mine is totally slapdash, and sometimes I beat myself up over it but you have to go with what works for you!
And I haven’t had an empty inbox since the day I opened my email account, so that point really resonated with me 😂
I almost didn’t share the numbers because I know some people would freak out 🤣. But honestly, I don’t even see the numbers. It just seems so time consuming to delete or read or file every single bloody email. It must take up so much time???!?!
It does! I attempted to try and delete chunks of my more than 25,000 mails with an app that does bulk deleting (Mailstrom FYI), but even that takes absolutely ages as I've still to scan through the ones I might need to keep that have logins and such. I'd quite like to hire a PA to 'clean up' my online debris! Unlikely!
What a brilliant post, thank you for sharing this! I’m fascinated by other people’s routines too - when I see people who have a daily morning routine I wonder how they manage it to be honest 😂 love the idea hypothetically but in practice it’s a whole different thing. Sometimes you’ve just got to snatch those 20 minutes here and there, and the beauty is in making it work for you!
I think the people who share their morning routines are also the kind of people who have really rigid, ideal ones 😂. Meanwhile the rest of us are just out here tidying up messes, drinking tea and hoping for the best
I figure it comes when it comes and when I try to force it it just doesn’t flow. Usually when I’m working on something particular (like my memoir) I’m pretty much entirely immersed in it and struggle to tear myself away: I stay up all hours, the house becomes a hovel and I often forget to stop and eat. Basically I descend into temporary insanity for the duration 😜
I developed an excellent habit (!) during lockdown that's stayed! Move car from garage to front of house for daughter (terraced house, back lane), via Morriston Daily at garage where fresh hot croissant and coffee acquired, drive round corner, consume croissant and write one page of journal while drinking coffee, 2 more morning pages squeezed in at home. It's the coffee that does it and 10 mins solitude. Read? Wherever and whenever I can in any format. How's the foot BTW. I can still only walk a mile and not painlessly! 4 months on!
I love this Penny. It’s crazy how you can get in your head the “right way” to do it. I wrote down a writing ritual I wanted to do which included 5.30am mornings! But some mornings I woke up with zero inspiration and then had nothing to show for it but a more tired head.
One of the things I’ve realised worked for me was walking. A friend I made here on substack suggested leaving voice notes to myself as I walked so I didn’t have to stop with pen and paper, that’s been much better for me. So thank you for this it was like a sigh of relief!
In 2021 I hired a therapist with the request that she teach me how to wake up at 4am so I could get back to writing. Therapist: 'What does 4am have to do with anything? My advice is to find a pen.'
She was correct! Sometimes I'm afraid I'm missing something with all this Pomodoro this, time block that, race to be in my chair for a co-writing group that happens at a time that's inconvenient for me. Turns out, I'm a grown-ass woman who has somehow managed to meet the minimum (possibly more than that) requirements for managing my life. I will probably continue to do that, even if there's no name or theory for how I do it.
Not writing every day here too...sometimes I just need to let things mix about inside my head, get out of the house, restock the words by not being in constant production mode somehow. I loved this Penny xo
I loved reading this Penny, thank you. I very rarely write at a desk. I find the chaos around my desk distracting and start sorting and tidying. I draft things in my head on walks or whilst I'm swimming. I write in cafes, sofas, beds, park benches. I write in so many different notebooks, google docs, substack, word documents, pages documents, notes on my phone, scraps of paper. I used to beat myself up about this - "Pick a location! Pick a medium!" but it just doesn't work for me. It's lovely reading how others are working around what we have assumed is the "right" way.
Reading this really cracked me up, brilliant! I was actually chortling out loud :) I don't have any kind of routine I regularly follow either; I need to do movement in the morning first and am not an early riser or a late night-er, just a 'middle of the day-er'.
I tend to follow my cyclical nature as my brain works so differently in each phase and my ability to focus changes completely. Totally non-linear.
This was such a refreshing read - thank you Penny!
What a great read, I’m also fascinated by other writers’ habits and processes. Thank you for this insight into yours!
I heard that - I think it was Steven Pressfield - sits at his desk every single day at 9am to write (I wonder if that’s still true!)
Anyhoo, I tried that once, I mean for about 3 or 4 consecutive days, bored the shit out of me to be so punctual and available to my work, so I soon rebelled against it and never looked back.
Also, I think that kind of discipline is so masculine, my body just isn’t into it.
Lol - I find it’s only men who stick to such rigid routines and I think it’s usually because they’re being supported at home by a partner in order to be that rigid 🙃
Right on!!
Interesting take on masculinity. I've struggled massively with routine my whole life. I think it's more to do with how your brain is wired. If you're more of an architect / designer in your creativity, I think you'd benefit from a routine. If you're more a gardener / dreamer in your creativity, I reckon you struggle.
I get the masculinity thing though - because the drive for optimisation is a topic so many 'tech bros' drool over. It's not my jam, that's for sure!
I get working hard, but when that starts to become part of your identity...that's when it's not cool.
Love this insight into your experience thanks James
Thank you for sharing such a human post! It’s a breath of fresh air to read a piece that feels both vulnerable and confident. The world needs to hear more stories like this that showcase our humanness and our real reality shared with an unapologetic voice. Well done ❤️❤️❤️
It’s so easy to idealise certain ways of working - but all that really matters is we do the work :)
Such a refreshing read first thing in the morning! Although I’m very attracted to the romantic notion of a perfect “writing routine/day”, reality has other ideas. Maybe when I can go away on a retreat again … Until then, we just make it work!
I’m going to try and do a couple of retreat weekends this year!
Love this, as someone with 140,000 emails in my inbox and counting!
I don’t even see the number anymore - it’s meaningless 😂
I love this! I do wake early but never use the time to write - I need to have done some movement, had breakfast & several cups of very strong tea before my brain’s ready.
And while I read lots, it’s mostly memoir & non-fiction, & if I want fiction, I usually find film a more satisfying medium.
Like you, I can also easily write all day (& certainly don’t write every day), especially if at a later editing stage.
Oh that’s so interesting that you prefer film to novels. I actually have a whole different routine for editing which I didn’t even mention. I always go to a totally different location to edit if possible - usually the British Library!
I absolutely loved this Penny! xx
🥰🥰
This is great - I find other people’s writing routines so interesting. Mine is totally slapdash, and sometimes I beat myself up over it but you have to go with what works for you!
And I haven’t had an empty inbox since the day I opened my email account, so that point really resonated with me 😂
I almost didn’t share the numbers because I know some people would freak out 🤣. But honestly, I don’t even see the numbers. It just seems so time consuming to delete or read or file every single bloody email. It must take up so much time???!?!
It does! I attempted to try and delete chunks of my more than 25,000 mails with an app that does bulk deleting (Mailstrom FYI), but even that takes absolutely ages as I've still to scan through the ones I might need to keep that have logins and such. I'd quite like to hire a PA to 'clean up' my online debris! Unlikely!
Ok this is exactly what I would do if I won the lottery 😂
What a brilliant post, thank you for sharing this! I’m fascinated by other people’s routines too - when I see people who have a daily morning routine I wonder how they manage it to be honest 😂 love the idea hypothetically but in practice it’s a whole different thing. Sometimes you’ve just got to snatch those 20 minutes here and there, and the beauty is in making it work for you!
I think the people who share their morning routines are also the kind of people who have really rigid, ideal ones 😂. Meanwhile the rest of us are just out here tidying up messes, drinking tea and hoping for the best
Sometimes I don’t write for months at a time 🙊
I figure it comes when it comes and when I try to force it it just doesn’t flow. Usually when I’m working on something particular (like my memoir) I’m pretty much entirely immersed in it and struggle to tear myself away: I stay up all hours, the house becomes a hovel and I often forget to stop and eat. Basically I descend into temporary insanity for the duration 😜
Temporary insanity is definitely something I relate to 😂
Loved every single bit of this! Thanks for sharing. x
All was happy to share my less than desirable habits 😆
I developed an excellent habit (!) during lockdown that's stayed! Move car from garage to front of house for daughter (terraced house, back lane), via Morriston Daily at garage where fresh hot croissant and coffee acquired, drive round corner, consume croissant and write one page of journal while drinking coffee, 2 more morning pages squeezed in at home. It's the coffee that does it and 10 mins solitude. Read? Wherever and whenever I can in any format. How's the foot BTW. I can still only walk a mile and not painlessly! 4 months on!
Coffee and croissant and solitude are excellent motivation 😆
I love this Penny. It’s crazy how you can get in your head the “right way” to do it. I wrote down a writing ritual I wanted to do which included 5.30am mornings! But some mornings I woke up with zero inspiration and then had nothing to show for it but a more tired head.
One of the things I’ve realised worked for me was walking. A friend I made here on substack suggested leaving voice notes to myself as I walked so I didn’t have to stop with pen and paper, that’s been much better for me. So thank you for this it was like a sigh of relief!
Walking is the best!! I use it a lot too. On the all day writing marathons I’m usually walking a lot :)
Yes, Anna! Yes to this whole post! So refreshing.
In 2021 I hired a therapist with the request that she teach me how to wake up at 4am so I could get back to writing. Therapist: 'What does 4am have to do with anything? My advice is to find a pen.'
She was correct! Sometimes I'm afraid I'm missing something with all this Pomodoro this, time block that, race to be in my chair for a co-writing group that happens at a time that's inconvenient for me. Turns out, I'm a grown-ass woman who has somehow managed to meet the minimum (possibly more than that) requirements for managing my life. I will probably continue to do that, even if there's no name or theory for how I do it.
Not writing every day here too...sometimes I just need to let things mix about inside my head, get out of the house, restock the words by not being in constant production mode somehow. I loved this Penny xo
❤️❤️
LOVE how you are always breaking supposed rules x
I loved reading this Penny, thank you. I very rarely write at a desk. I find the chaos around my desk distracting and start sorting and tidying. I draft things in my head on walks or whilst I'm swimming. I write in cafes, sofas, beds, park benches. I write in so many different notebooks, google docs, substack, word documents, pages documents, notes on my phone, scraps of paper. I used to beat myself up about this - "Pick a location! Pick a medium!" but it just doesn't work for me. It's lovely reading how others are working around what we have assumed is the "right" way.
Similar writing habits here. My husband calls those bits 'idea confetti.'
Reading this really cracked me up, brilliant! I was actually chortling out loud :) I don't have any kind of routine I regularly follow either; I need to do movement in the morning first and am not an early riser or a late night-er, just a 'middle of the day-er'.
I tend to follow my cyclical nature as my brain works so differently in each phase and my ability to focus changes completely. Totally non-linear.
This was such a refreshing read - thank you Penny!