News, views and stuff

When I used to work (ie. in a paid job) I was almost always the proverbial square peg. Job satisfaction, such as it was, came from a laugh with my colleagues and – rarely – the sense I was doing something that made a fractional difference – like building a rapport with a teenager excluded from mainstream school. However, the best thing about a regular job was that it gave a routine to my life, something that has been lacking for the past few years. I think I’ve always undervalued routine. Nowadays I’m finding that – at the very least – it rescues me from having that ‘nothing achieved’ feeling at the end of the day. And, at best, in focusing my mind, it somehow frees me to be more creative and imaginative rather than less.

So this is my routine:

I don’t normally set my alarm, preferring to wake when I’m ready. Once awake, I start the day with a few minutes exercise. I start with my pelvic floor exercises – essential if you’re over 60 and had a couple of children. I then do some stretchy, twisty stuff on the bed. Ideally, I focus completely on this, rather than let my mind wander to things I intend to do during the day, though I don’t always manage this. I then get off the bed and go the full-length mirror on the wall. In front of this, I do a sequence of ballet movements. (I went to ballet lessons as a child, so these feel quite natural to me.) The first to fifth positions. A few pas-de-chevals. A couple of arabesques. Feel free to laugh! Standing in front of the mirror might seem scary - and I probably wouldn't dare if I hadn't lost weight over the past 12 months - but it enables me to keep a check on posture. I finish with a couple of what I call my ‘stork’ positions, which are brilliant for balance, followed by a bit of jogging on the spot. After that, I sit on my exercise bike and do a few turns, nothing exhausting, I just count to about 100 and then get off and start my day.

By now, I feel ready for breakfast, after which I attack the kitchen, piled high with cooking and eating debris from the night before. (I don’t bother clearing up in the evening, as it would kill that lovely indulgent after-sense of food and wine). I’m then ready to sit at my computer. A quick check of my emails, replies if necessary, and a scan of the news, and then I start work on my novel. I don’t have a fixed time for this, but break off when I run out of steam or feel hungry. Usually the running out of steam coincides with hunger. After lunch, I try to counterbalance all that sitting at the computer with something more physical. Housework, gardening, a walk. Evenings are time to relax, read, chat, watch TV.

Something else: I try as far as possible to keep meetings with friends, social groups and so on, for the afternoons. This means my time at my computer in the mornings is prioritised, in the way that a paid job would have been prioritised.

This might all sound a bit worthy, and if so, I make no apologies. I think I deserve my routine. I’ve worked hard for it.

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