What Time of Day Do You Peak As A Writer

Is there a certain time of day when the words just flow easily or the ideas come to you in a stream with no struggle? Maybe you haven't connected the time with the event, but you should. To notice your own creative rhythms is an important part of being a writer if you want to create a steady stream of output, and income.

If you've ever studied natural weight loss or stress management you may have heard of Cortisol, a hormone that causes belly fat and all other kinds of nastiness. It is at it's peak in the morning hours, after you wake up. Well there's a reason to like Cortisol, it enhances thought and critical thinking. A study found that Doctors were more likely to diagnose diseases and washed their hands more often in the morning. Waking up very early in the morning, making a cup of coffee and writing before your head can fill with the noises of the day and the mundane thoughts of your schedule can be a great time to write, with your mind still almost connected to the dreams you had.

Okay, so if you hit that link and read even the first paragraph you will know that these writers wrote in the morning for about a maximum of four hours in the morning and then spent the rest of the day taking walks, eating, socializing or napping. Why? Probably because their brains were tired. The brain consumes about twenty percent of the body's calories and that is an organ that doesn't physically move. It's bound to consume more when involved in such a heavy sport as writing.

"Well I don't have the luxury of spending the rest of my day taking walks, eating, socializing and napping," you may say," what am I supposed to do?"

Follow your circadian rhythms, that eb and flow of energy or lack of energy that gets you through the day.

We might peak around noon, and then the decline of our analytic skills begins its downward spiral in the afternoon hours. This is the time we may want to take a walk or have a nutritious snack or even take a walk and have a nutritious snack with a co worker to get our creative juices flowing. A little conversation can often spark our energy. The hardest time for our brain comes around two to three pm. Daniel Pink, cognition expert, suggests what he calls a nappuccino, a cup of coffee followed by a nap of twenty minutes.

The afternoon can be a good time for creativity. Your task minded analytical brain is tired and sort of out of the way and if your environment supports it, you can sort of lie back and plot and scheme. There are many facets to writing other than balls to the wall first drafts, and this might be a good time to outline, rewrite, plot, or just stare out the window and germinate.

We can't always look to our Circadian Rhythms to tell us when to write, any more than we can look to our horoscopes, tarot cards or the phase of the moon, we just have to do it sometimes, but finding a schedule is an important part of that. Even if we are not happy with our first efforts, we can find the little gems in them and keep going because our skills are magnified with trials. We also have to know why we want to write. Is it for fame? Thats not a good reason, and very few writers get famous anymore. They can get successful but few get famous. Besides who wants to be famous. You can't even go to the grocery store in peace if you are famous. Not something you have to worry about. Is it for Intellectual Snobbery? No You hate those kind of people. Is it because you just have to write?

If it's not for a good reason, you should pick another career.

But if you do write just because you have to write, because you need to write, make it easier on yourself and learn about the schedule your body begs you to follow and then actually commit words to screen or paper and write. And make every effort to get those words published just for your own piece of mind and validation. Don't be intimidated or bullied by other writers or editors or anyone who would make you feel less than them. There is enough work for everyone, and if you can find your own voice there is way more than enough work for you.

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