Yep, my husband teased me constantly as I was finishing my first book, Inspired Action, because I wasn’t getting out of bed until noon on some days. However, it was some of the most productive time of my career. Why? Because I figured out that writing in bed really WORKED for me.
For me, this was an experiment in Energy Management. Having just taught a webinar last week on this topic, let me start with an explanation. Energy Management is about how we manage our cycles of stress and rest in order to optimize the energy we have to show up for our lives. Most people are familiar with the idea of circadian rhythms (early birds & night owls) which relates to when you are most “awake” and mentally fresh.
What I have learned about myself is that my first 2-3 hours of the day are my best times, and after working on and off to finish editing my book for two years, I knew that I NEEDED to get it DONE. So, I decided to test a new habit… working in bed.
Now, I have been known to occasionally write in bed when inspired in the past, but this was different. This was almost every day for 1-3 hours. What I found was that if I eliminated ALL barriers to getting this most important task done it made it EASY. I got into a rhythm of editing or rewriting one chapter each day. (Inspired Action is made up of 50 short chapters… so this was 3-6 pages generally.)
Why did working in bed work so well?
Fewer Distractions – I hadn’t yet encountered the rest of the world. Basically, I would go to the bathroom, stretch, and grab my laptop. Whatever was happening on my desk could wait. I wouldn’t check email or Facebook until after my chapter was finished, and posting my progress to Facebook was often my reward for getting the work done. A LOT of my Facebook friends have been watching me inch ever closer to publication from afar, offering support and cheering me on. Thanks! I used the private isolation of my bedroom to my advantage… it was just me and Microsoft Word plugging away each day.
Lack of Resistance – Since I planned my day to protect the first 90 minutes to 3 hours of morning time I knew that I had nowhere else to go and nothing else to do (as my EarthSpirit friends would say.) So, I could just roll naturally into my morning writing habit without fretting about what would happen later in the day. I still focus on my writing in the morning, although I will admit that I did shower, dress, and am writing this downstairs at my desktop. But, when I know I need to get some piece of creative work done that I’ve been resisting I still often do it in bed.
Prepared the Night Before – It took me a little while to build this complementary habit, but I started making sure that I had my manuscript, laptop, and water bottle with me every night when I went upstairs. This evening habit was part of my “lack of resistance” strategy. If I had everything I needed right within reach in the bedroom, then it was a lot easier to get into writing first thing in the morning. However, if I left the room, it was almost like the magic vanished. Yes, I could get it back sometimes, but it just didn’t feel as easy and natural. So, I learned to bring the things I needed for my morning writing time to bed with me. There was even a period of several months when I kept a bowl of apples in the bedroom so that I could eat some breakfast without going downstairs.
Crazy Comfortable – I love my bed. It is a wonderful nest, and a room that always feels safe and happy. And I think that physical and emotional comfort allows me to write more freely and expressively. There’s nothing like having three pillows behind me, being nestled in a flannel comforter, and having my sleeping kitties nearby to surround me in stillness and quiet joy.
Matching Creative Time to Creative Action – Since I knew the early part of the day was my prime creative time, making my priority on waking a creative task felt so easy and natural. Doing it in my bedroom first thing simply made sure that I didn’t lose any of that creative juice to the mundane actions of life before the important task was complete.
Not for everyone
I know to some of you this description sounds like a fantasy… particularly to parents or those of you who get up for a corporate job at 5 a.m. like my honey. I also know that there are arguments for maintaining a bedroom as purely restful space (i.e. beds are for sleeping and sex). Certainly, if you have severe insomnia this might not be a great method for you. As a home-based business owner for over 12 years, however, I know that everything is subject to change and few rules are absolutes.
What works brilliantly for one period of your life won’t work at all for others. Sometimes we are quick to dismiss an idea as implausible, but sometimes the best ideas started out sounding implausible. Now that the book is finished and we’re in the final publication stage, I’m rarely working in bed any more. However, I have discovered that it’s a workspace that can work, and I wanted to share it for all you bloggers, aspiring authors, and others who have been struggling to create your writing habit.
If that’s not you, then maybe it’s a friend of yours. Share this post on social media and see who it inspires.
