Unpredictability

Yesterday, I extolled the virtues of having set routines in place in order to get my work done.

For the last three weeks, though, I haven't been able to live with my normal routines. I had a scratched cornea (thank you, dear, sweet, little kitten), which made it virtually impossible to look at a computer monitor. Well, I couldn't very well edit or write if I couldn't keep my eye open, could I? Nope.

Once the scratch healed, I developed pink eye in the same eye. Yep, another several days where my eye wasn't functioning properly.

Oh, yeah, and my sister had to go to the hospital and has been there for nearly two weeks. So...I've been taking care of her cat, who needed a few vet appointments, in addition to regular care and attention. Plus I've been going to visit my sister when I can. Now, the cat needs an antibiotic twice a day.

So routines? Yeah, they're gone. I haven't had the same schedule for two days in a row. I'm editing when I can, writing when I can...and somehow, finding out that I can still be productive even amidst the chaos my life has become.

It's taken an adjustment period, no doubt. It was rocky there at the beginning. But I've learned to edit in batches and get it out, and to write in any spare minute when I can. On Twitter, people will do #1K1Hr bursts, which I've participated in to try to get some words on the page. Sometimes, I've had to shorten mine to #500in30, though.

While I may not be writing as fast as I'd like to write or editing as fast as I'd like to edit, I'm still getting it done. And frankly, I think my writing has been a little better because of it. I haven't been able to take the time to plot in such a detailed manner as I usually do. Instead, I've been plotting on the fly at times, and loving the results.

Are you someone who normally has to just carve out work time as you can? Have you found a way to cope with this? If you're a routine love like me, do you have a plan in place for if life tosses your routine out the window?

**Originally published at Lady Scribes**