I’ve seen lots of advice about how time management is related to energy management, to trying to find the best time of day for you to do specific tasks.

I usually try to avoid that kind of thinking because once I start trying to optimize, I can fall into a thinking loop and be unable to do anything because I’m not sure it’s the ‘best’ time to do it.

That being said, I’ve noticed recently that I get a lot done on Friday afternoons.

And I can focus pretty well between 4:30 and 5:30.

Interestingly, those are the times that I am usually trying to be done for the day or for the week.

Clearly that has to change.

Maybe it’s the feeling of a deadline – the end of the work day, the end of the work week – that makes those times so effective for me.

It would make sense – part of the reason I have trouble starting things is because they feel like they are going to go on forever

I’m not going to extend my work day though. I definitely don’t need more work hours, I need work hours that are more effective.

So perhaps I can do some of the things I usually do in the latter part of the day/week at other times and free myself up to work at those focused times.

Let’s see how that goes.

Even though I know the only way to write is put one word after the other sometimes it’s really hard to make myself do that.

Part of me is still convinced there is a magic way to get my writing done, that there’s a trick to it, that there’s a perfect time when the words will just pour themselves onto the page.

Nope.

Some writing session are easier than others but the only thing that always works is putting one word after the other.

This is me promising myself that I won’t try to do 5 days of work in a 4 day week.

I will go easy on my to do list.

I swear I will.

I have a few small plants on my nightstand. I love the touch of green in my bedroom but they really don’t get enough natural light there.

So, I started using a grow-light to see if it helped and in just a few days my African Violet has some sweet new leaves.

It goes to show that things can change quickly when your needs are met, when you add just the right thing.

My reading today told me that I need to spend more time on things that are meaningful to me personally.

That I need to cultivate creative solitude.

Not so much that I need to do things alone but that I need to spend time on things that I alone want to do.

I made myself a reminder.