Blog streak - day #2

 I don't know if two is a streak, but as far a I'm concerned, it counts. You can't have a streak without getting the second day done, after all.

Today was a long day. Woke up at 6:30, got a half hour walk done in the pouring rain with my poor dog, Oscar. We were both drenched when we got home. Oscar hates the rain more than anything but missing a meal. He will not do his business when it's raining, which puts him in a very uncomfortable state. His belly starts to bother him and he gets very grumpy and more emotionally needy than usual, which is saying a lot. 

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to console him. I did some pushups and bodyweight squats, showered, ate breakfast, and sat down to write out my goals for the day. They were more or less the same as yesterday. Then I went to work.

Worked for a little more than ten hours. Came home, ate dinner, and sat down to do some writing.

I managed 1269 words of the short story I'm writing. I'm having fun with it, though I have a ton of self doubt about the quality. I haven't written anything in almost a year, so that's only natural. Even the blog last night felt forced and clunky, though that was probably due to how tired I was. I really just wanted to get to sleep.

I'm a little better tonight. It's almost 9:30. I'm planning on being up tomorrow at 5 a.m. I want to transition my writing and exercise to the morning before work so that I don't feel so much pressure in the evenings. If I can get those two things done in the morning, I'm much less likely to break the streaks and quit on myself. If I keep leaving them until the evening, it's only a matter of time until my will breaks down and I put one or both off until I'm too tired to get them done, and then I'll be struggling to start a whole new streak. Plus, there are evenings when I have plans with the babe or with friends, and those will certainly eliminate any chance I have of writing and exercising. So, as much as I resist it, early mornings must become a part of my routine.

The good things is, I have had pretty good creative success in the mornings when I've tried this in the past. I find that, when I'm writing regularly, I can write pretty much any time of day, so long as I'm not over tired.

So, day two of reshaping my routine is in the books. I'm going to walk the dog now, do a little light exercise, and then see if I can keep my eyes open long enough to read a chapter or two of the latest Harry Dresden novel, "Battle Ground," by Jim Butcher.

See you tomorrow.