Gentle Reader, as I’ve said before on this blog, I’m trying to preserve my morning writing routine at the same time I’m trying to raise a 12-week-old puppy (with the help of my darling husband, of course). But he stays up later with said pup, and I wake up earlier (I am an early bird; he is a night owl), so setting a schedule is hard work. Thank God for the crate!
So here’s the schedule:
- In bed at 8 or 9. I go to bed early.
- Up at 1 or 2 with the pup to walk her.
- Up at 6 with the pup to walk her again. Feed all dogs. Walk puppy again.
- Puppy goes back in crate. I eat breakfast and drink coffee at my computer.
- I write, 2-3 pages or about 20 minutes.
- Take puppy out of crate and play hard with her.
It’s been working so far. She’s still a bit of a crier in her crate at certain moments, but she’s been getting a lot better about it, especially when she has a Kong to entertain her.
Pups like routine. It’s helpful. It’s something to count on. My dogs know about 5:00, it’s dinnertime, and they get ready for it. We’re putting Zoe on that schedule too.
Of course now, Zoe has a thousand nicknames, but the most popular one being The Great and Powerful ZOBO! We’re weird. We accept it.
The Postmodern Bluestocking 