As I mentioned in a previous post, I find that life often calls for a reevaluation of my writing schedule. This week has proven to be the case and for two great reasons.
The first is that Alex and I adopted a dog from the local shelter. We have been talking about doing so for going on a year now and finally felt it was a good time. He was a stray, and even though he was brought to the shelter wearing a collar, no one claimed him after several days. The staff there called him Cheese-It because of his orange coloring, and at the suggestion of a friend, we have tweaked that name to Queso. A ridiculous name and yet also fitting for his goofy personality!
I am sure that every dog owner says this, but he is perfect (really!). He is chill, quiet, friendly with our two cats, house-trained, the smartest dog ever (he is already learning “sit” and “down”), and so on. I’m surprised my poor friends and family are even answering my texts anymore since I have bombarded them with cute pictures non-stop.
This week was my last week of unemployment (another hooray!), and so I was able to spend the whole week with Queso, helping him get adjusted to his new home. He is a huge fan of extremely squeaky toys – the squeakier the better – and loves being brushed, which is good since he is “a bit” of a shedder. Due to this influx of squeaky-toy-time in my schedule and also my new-found addiction to finding ways to remove dog hair from virtually every object in the home, I have not been able to write as much as I would like.
The second reason I need to reevaluate my writing schedule is that, as I mentioned, this week was my last week staying home. I am excited to be starting my new job on Monday which will require an interesting schedule of 7:00 AM – 4:00 PM some days and 9:30 PM – 6:30 PM other days (no weekends though, thankfully). With this new schedule, I will need to do some heavy structuring to make sure I get in enough writing in to remain sane.
I am still working on some ideas, but I am thinking of writing during my lunch break since I will be getting a solid hour every day. I will also be getting home before five three days a week, which will give me time to write in the late afternoon. I have been playing with the idea of posting segments of the same short story throughout the week as a way to divide up writing into more manageable chunks along with more posts about my writing process and experiences.
Time will tell in regards to the best way to adjust my writing schedule, and I will be sure to post updates on any revelations I come to. In the meantime, I welcome any suggestions readers may have for writing while caring for pets and/or working irregular hours.
Krista J. Iris Watson 