So, this is day three of the time change and I don’t like it! It’s interfering with my rhythm!

Starting last November—right when I was supposed to be pounding the keyboard for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), I hit the skids so far as writing was concerned. I couldn’t commit a word to the page to save my life. That slump lasted all the way until January. Scared the crap out of me.

Then January hit, and that is always my new hopes/new plans push. I love New Years resolutions. I feel shiny and new and like anything is possible. I looked at my routine and decided to tweak some things to see whether I could pull out of my slump. Here’s what I did.

I still keep an automated year-at-a-glance planning sheet so I know “big-picture” view what has to be done—and I have my monthly calendar with big goals listed. However, I’ve gone to a hand-written daily sheet. Something I can go through the physical motion of checking off items I accomplish each day. Each time I do, I feel like I’m shedding some of the weight sitting on my shoulder.

The second thing I did was to set my alarm to get up earlier every day. I was getting up around 8-ish, eating breakfast, then around 10:00 coming to my desk. Now, I’m up at 6:30—and oh, what a difference that has made. I somehow forgot I’m a morning person. Now, writing tasks are usually done by 2:00 in the afternoon and then I catch up on email and any social media type things I need to handle. Work is usually wrapped by 3:30. The earlier start time has given me more energy. Go figure.

Then comes Spring Forward! Can we start a petition to stop this nonsense? Seriously? What purpose does it serve except to interrupt our natural rhythms? The earliest I could manage to drag my ass out of bed today was 7:00—and it still feels like the middle of the freaking night! It’s hard to be virtuous and stick to a plan when I’m yawning this hard in front of the keyboard. Seriously!

So tell me, are you struggling with the time change too? Did you start any New Years’ tweaks that you’ve managed to maintain all the way to March?