Morning Writer, But Still Not a Morning Person

I have discovered I am a morning writer. For those who really know me, you’re probably just as surprised as I was to discover this fact. However, the past few weeks have definitely shown me I am a morning writer, despite the fact that I am most certainly not a morning person (as in, don’t even try to speak to me until I’ve gotten caffeine in my system).

I decided not to take any classes over the summer and instead focus on writing my thesis, having promised my advisor I would have a first draft completed by the start of the fall semester. My goal has been to write at least 1,000 words per day, thinking that would be not only a realistic goal but also a fairly sizeable goal by the end of four months of writing. As is true with many goals I set for myself I haven’t quite reached that goal, but I have noticed a pattern in my writing.

I usually only manage to get the 1,000 words written on Mondays and Wednesdays. These are the days I do not work (I work in a church office on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday mornings) and therefore I am able to get up, eat breakfast, make myself a cup of tea then get right to work. I shut myself in my room on my computer and usually do not come out until at least noon, sometimes later. (Confession: I usually don’t change out of my pajamas until I’m done writing for the day. I write better when I’m comfy.) On these days it is usually easy for me to get at least 1,000 words written on my thesis, plus do some extra writing (which is where my new goal of blogging at least once a week comes in).

Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays however, are a different story. My intent is always to come home from work, eat lunch, then sit at my computer and write. This rarely happens and when it does I only get a couple hundred words written at most. Usually on these days something else comes up. I have errands to run, other projects to work on (proofreading papers for friends, working on a newsletter for a friend who does missions work, etc.) or other chores to do (clean my room, organize my books, laundry, etc.). The days I do actually try to work, I find that I have a much harder time focusing in the afternoon than I do in the morning.

This all comes as a surprise to me, as I had always assumed I would be the type of writer who would write in the afternoon or late into the night and sleep in the next day. Given my aversion to waking up early I never imagined I would actually find it much easier to get my work done first thing in the morning. Of course this has also made me face the fact that if I work better in the morning, this means I actually have to make myself get up in the morning so I can accomplish that work.

There’s some sort of twisted irony at play here.