Today I return to school. Like every other year for the past thirty years, I didn’t sleep very well last night. I was too excited about school starting. As obnoxious as this is — to be wide awake when you’re supposed to be sleeping — I kind of like it. It’s good to be excited about getting up and going to school.

This also means a shift in my writing routine. I’m up earlier today than on summer days. I did all kinds of things last night to be ready for this morning. I know I only have a limited time to write. I think this is good for my writing life.

Whenever something is limited we treasure it more. In college I was 3+ hours away from Andy. I saw him a couple of times a month. On those days I blocked out everything else, clearing my schedule so the only thing on it was to spend time with Andy. I treasured the moments.

This is my plan for writing during the school year. To plan ahead and treasure the moments. I like writing in the day. (I also like writing out of the day, but that isn’t as predictable as the morning writing routine.) How about you? Do you have a plan to keep writing once the summer days are replaced by the whirlwind of fall?