“It is cold, dark and pouring down with rain. It is a Bank Holiday and I am the ONLY ONE awake in the neighbourhood. There isn’t even one light on in all the seven high-rise blocks that I can see from the window!”
~ note on the second day of the 6AM Writing Challenge
It has been one week since I started the 6AM Writing Challenge, in which, as the title suggests, I wake up at 6AM to write before starting the day. Have I actually managed to wake up at 6AM during this first week? And, if yes, have I actually managed to write upon waking? Let me tell you all…
So long, snooze: Yes, I have actually managed to wake up at 6AM every day! Although I do wake up groaning and wishing I could press the snooze button just one more time…I believe I don’t wake up in a very good mood, either, but luckily, I can take it all out on the paper.
Nothing Too much to say: My aim for the 6AM Writing Challenge was to do one hour of writing. However, I was anxious that one hour would be too long – what would I write about for so long so early in the morning? By the second day, it turned out that I actually needed more than an hour! On the week-end, I ended up writing for three hours.
Poet by night, rambler by morning: When I was doing the 120-day “Do What You Love” Challenge, I wrote for fifteen minutes before going to bed, and usually wrote poems or short stories. In the first week of the 6AM Writing Challenge, on the other hand, I have been writing articles, blog posts or streams of consciousness in Morning Pages-style. I quite miss the poetry, actually…
Finding the time: On the topic of poetry – on one of the first days of the 6AM Writing Challenge, I sorted out all of my poems, making a special file for the poems that I would like to enter into competitions. I have wanted to do this for months, but “never had the time”.
Picking priorities: It feels great to start the day by doing what I love; by the time I leave the house for work, I feel like I have already fulfilled the day’s purpose. I now also have the whole evening free to relax and spend time with my partner, whereas before I had to pick between the two things I love most: my loved one and writing!
Double Espresso and two sugars, please: On the first two days of the 6AM Writing Challenge I got an energy slump by mid-day and had to take a nap in the afternoon! My body wasn’t used to waking up earlier than the sun! A week later, my body seems to be getting used to the extra few hours in my day, although I’ve thrown my “I-only-drink-coffee-on-special-occasions” motto out of the window.
So, although it’s not easy to wake up at 6AM to write, the first week of the 6AM Writing Challenge has been a pleasant surprise, bringing about many positive and unexpected things. I look forward to discovering the second week!
Tags: 6AM Writing Challenge, Challenge, Month, November, Poetry, Writing
Love Out Loud 