my new normal
I used to be normal. Or at least I functioned within a semi-normal state of being. There was a schedule I followed, a general routine.
But ever since I started writing at night & by hand, my life is topsy-turvy & upside-down.
Used to be, I’d actually set my alarm & get up at 8am or so—sometimes earlier. This is not to say that I am a morning person. I sincerely am not. It would always take me a while to really wake up by feeding the cats & exercising for an hour. (Because I have to do that sort of thing while I’m still sleepy & groggy, otherwise my brain catches on & tries to talk me out of it. Often succeeding. :runrun ) But the point is, I knew what daylight looked like. Sometimes I even saw the majority of the sun come up.
After putting in my time on the Torture Cycle or with the weights, I’d check e-mail, update my Twitter & Facebook statuses. (Because I know y’all wait with bated breath to find out what new bit of excitement is going on in my ever-so-glamorous life & cannot function until I tell you. :muahaha ) Sometimes I’d even work on a new blog post—like this one only, you know, interesting. :moon )
Then, even though it was much closer to lunchtime, I usually grabbed a bit of breakfast. Or if I’d spent too long at the computer, sometimes I went straight for a heartier lunch.
And after that, with my belly full & my busy work out of the way, I’d pull out my AlphaSmart and get to work. While it was still light out.
Nowadays, I drag myself out of bed when the sun is already high in the sky & heading down. The poor Kittehs don’t know what the hell is going on & wonder why I’ve suddenly put them on a starvation diet. (They definitely aren’t used to not being fed every five minutes. :Huh )
Almost immediately, I head to the computer because it’s already so late, I don’t want anyone thinking I died. Or usually, because I want to be sure to alert readers to what’s going on here at WIPs or elsewhere before you’re all shutting down your computers & heading home from work. :oops
It’s all very confusing, I admit. And I hope you know enough to just show up over here to see what’s going on for yourselves. Eventually, I will show up. But in the words of every teenager in every movie who ever ran from inbred cannibals with a group of friends: Go on without me! Save yourselves! Okay, maybe they didn’t actually say that. I, for instance, would be saying, Get the hell out of my way! & tripping you to buy myself some time! :runrun (Just sayin’.)
Then, after all of that, I still climb on the Torture Cycle, but I try not to look at the clock when I do it because it’s just too bizarre to be on there at 1pm when I used to be on by 9am. (Yesterday, it was actually 3:30pm, which almost made me cry. :sick )
Once I finish, I grab some breakfast…except how the heck can I call it that when it’s nowhere near morning anymore? Most of the time, I don’t even bother with toast or cereal or oatmeal the way I used to. What’s the point? I just go straight for lunch. 
For some reason, I usually end up back at the computer after that, as well as doing a bunch of the everyday tasks I used to do as soon as I got up.
Then it’s time to get down to business, usually when it’s already very dark & everybody else is getting ready for bed. And instead of grabbing my AlphaSmart the way I used to, I now grab a tablet & pencil, scribbling until the wee hours of the morning. Usually until about 3am, sometimes as late as 5am.
I will be the first to admit this is totally bizarre. It feels bizarre. I feel as though I’ve fallen into a parallel universe where day is night, light is dark, & it’s apparently normal to be getting up just as the buses are bringing small children home from school. :drinkup
But I also have to say that it’s working for me. I’m writing faster, having more fun, & getting more done than I have in a long time. So what can I do? I think I have to embrace it. At least until this book is finished & the world turns itself right-side up again.
Comments
8 Comments • Comments Feed
Mary Kirkland says:
Hey whatever works is the best way to get things done. I have a weirdest sleep/wake patterns too but mine seem to change with the seasons. In the summer I stay up all night writing articles and playing on my blog and on fb/twitter and then in the winter I get up early and am on all morning and go to bed early. I am normally a night person and like to be up at night more than during the day, but with two other people in the house I will take whatever free time to myself I have, whenever I can get it. So whatever works best…and gets the job done is what I do.
On January 31, 2012 at 11:40 am
Heidi says:
LOL There is something to be said for being awake when everybody else is sound asleep. I even love the quiet of the neighborhood, looking outside at 3am & seeing nothing, hearing nothing… Not that I’m anti-social or anything. :peekaboo
On January 31, 2012 at 3:23 pm
Jessica Lemmon says:
I remember those days…except I worked 2nd shift at a restaurant and spent my evenings @ work and my late nights imbibing spirited drinks with my co-workers. :drinkup I recall once leaving a friend’s house as the sun was coming up. It was beyond bizarre. :oops
Weirdly enough, every since I became vegan (coincidence???), mornings have gotten easier. :peekaboo My hubs and get up easily every a.m. at 7 on the weekends…though that before 6 a.m. stuff on two of my workdays is for the peacocks. :curses
Whatever works, I say do it! :whip Maybe that’s selfish of me…I’d say anything to insure you’re writing your fingers to the bone for my entertainment. :muahaha
Oh…and if you’re just now getting this (it’s almost 1 p.m.) allow me to wish you a hearty GOOD MORNING! :winkwink
On January 31, 2012 at 12:41 pm
Heidi says:
Ooh, I like that idea – I’m just workin’ the Night Shift. But not the Henry Winkler/Michael Keaton kind where it turns out I’m actually a hooker, okay? :cuffs
And, well, the writing does seem to be going exceptionally well, so I probably shouldn’t complain… :oops
On January 31, 2012 at 3:22 pm
Bonia says:
I to say if it works for you don’t stress about it to much!
I mean lots of people are more night people then day. I am one of them, however I work a 9-5 job. I’d much rather be up at night, something about the darkness.
On January 31, 2012 at 2:30 pm
Heidi says:
That’s my problem, actually, I’m stressing about it. It just doesn’t *feel* right to be living this way. And yet, it’s working, so I should probably shut the heck up & just roll with it, huh? :runrun
My worry at this point is upcoming appointments & how I’ll get up & get going without feeling like my head is going to explode. :sick But I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it…& possibly do better planning when it comes to scheduling stuff like that in the future. “Can I have the very last appt. of the day, please?” :winkwink
On January 31, 2012 at 3:25 pm
Bonia says:
It’s understandable to stress. As for the appointments, it sounds like you have it figured out! Late Appointments only!
Or maybe once you get this deadline met, you’ll rest up and get back on your normal schedule!
Either way you’ll figure it out! I have faith!
On February 1, 2012 at 10:25 am
jay says:
:rolf :rolf Thanks for the laughs, Heidi! I really needed that today. But as you said it works so I welcome you to the world of us night owls! :blowkiss :winkwink
On January 31, 2012 at 6:34 pm