Winter writing rhythms
... And the working day
It’s... been some time since my last Substack. As usual, I get absorbed into term time, keeping body and soul together while maintaining friendships, appreciating art and so, the hours for writing are few and far between, but as the days get darker, I find my productivity returning.
Sort of.
Generally, I try and stay away from working late into the night, or into the early hours of the morning. Though I understand that for many of my parent and carer friends find these quiet and solitary hours are the only time they can work done, for me they are reminiscent of harsh periods of overwork, and I’m wary of the doubts and fears that can creep in past midnight.
Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love a nap, and as time has gone on, I’ve come to see them as an essential part of the working and creative process. Spending several hours on a funding bid, life admin, then trying to bang out a couple of thousand words might sound foolhardy, but a nap in between, makes it all that much more possible.
Last year I read Katherine May’s Wintering where she talks about the medieval habit of two sleeps, and of the waking period in between being used to get work done, or for catching up with people or quietly reflecting.
Maybe the resonance I felt with this was just me trying to rationalise/ find some purpose or meaning behind my 3.30am wake up that happens more often than not, in which I think about work undone, and try and strategise work that’s forthcoming.
This can be its own double-edged sword, and with the sunset currently at 3.55pm (with the sky darkening from much, much earlier in the day), around 5pm when I’m usually revving up for another few Pomodoro’s before bed, I can barely keep my eyes open.
And so, I don’t.
If possible, I have a nap. Confident I’ll be awake in a couple of hours, ready to face some some creative labour and cognitive fatigue square on. A privilege, it absolutely is, but essential to me getting things done in the darker months.