Routine Interruptus

I’m big on routine. As soon as the Christmas break was over and done with I was keen to resume my usual schedule of works. I’m always more productive when I’ve got a regular routine to follow. I’m also lucky that I’m naturally an early riser so getting the majority of my work done in the morning after a large coffee is no chore at all. I don’t even need to set my alarm. I’m sure for those who find early mornings a trial this must sound unbelievable. Perhaps what set the tone was all those 5am wake-up calls when I was a teenager training for ice skating championships. Whatever the reason, I find mornings easy. And I’ve found them increasingly easy the more I do the thing I love to do so much.

So I expected this January to be no different. Of course I wasn’t counting on a bout of the flu to stop me in my tracks. It caught me totally unawares. I felt a bit out of sorts but was eager to get on with the day to day stuff so contacted parents about resuming schedules. Then followed the projectile vomiting, shivers, painful joints and blinding headaches. No, it was not fun.

Thankfully I’m on the mend but always find a period of illness such a chore. My thoughts always seem to be fighting their way out of an endless fog. It also means I can’t read much because I lose the thread after about 5 minutes.

In short – being ill sucks.

One advantage was that to stave off boredom I watched a lot of TV. I managed to catch up on the majority of my To Watch list on iPlayer. I finally got through the entire series of Peaky Blinders which was recommended to me over a year ago. So it turned out this illness had some gogglebox compensations.

But I’m very glad indeed to be writing once more and am eager to get on with my main task this Spring – editing Palindrome. Keep your eyes peeled for more news of this prequel to Six Dead Men. It’s due out in the Summer.

So whatever your writing plans for 2018 – may you be productive and achieve everything you set out to. May you also escape the flu.

I write therefore I am.

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