The Key: A schedule, a routine

The routine of 9-5 provides a structure for employed persons to complete and make progress on the items of their job description.

When unemployed, this externally-imposed structure goes away. Initially, this feels great. Like a vacation. And certainly, those of us who have chosen self-employment understand the joy of creating our own schedule.

That said, the creation of a schedule is key to making progress-- no matter what state of employment (or lack thereof) you're in. And at least for me (and I doubt I'm alone in this), sticking to a schedule and routine does not come easily.

I've been working on (with various degrees of success) creating my own schedule-- at least for M-F. And with a special focus on the beginning of the day because I find that if I can get myself off to a good start, I'm much more likely to end the day feeling accomplished.

Here's mine; what's yours?

6:30 alarm goes off. Yes, while I don't have to get up early, I choose to get up early. I wait in bed until Garrison Keillor has read his poem on The Writer's Almanac. Then I get up and make us espresso, feed the cats, etc etc.

7:30 Dressed (this is key!), I get out of the house (also key!) and walk with Philip to the bus stop-- it's about three-quarters of a mile each way. On the way back, I often go out of my way and walk through the neighborhood, trying to stretch the total walk to 2 miles. Some days I walk the neighbor's dog. Some days I go through the woods and look for the latest wildflowers. Other days, I take my bike for a longer ride along the canal. The point is this: exercise outside in fresh air for at least 30-40 minutes.

8:30-9:30 (depending on the length of walk/ride): This is the tough time for me. This is where I can easily get distracted.

Upon returning home, I might swing through the yard to see how the garden is coming. I may weed. At some point, I make myself another cup of coffee and a bowl of granola-fruit-yogurt.

What I'm trying to do now is use this time to write my blog. But sometimes, I find that the morning has shot by because I get caught up in email or facebook or web-surfing, and before I know it, Kojo Nnamdi has come on the radio which means it's noon, and I haven't written a thing.

A note on distractions. Some distractions may not be bad. But instead of starting with them, end with them. Reward yourself with them after you've accomplished something on your list of goals. I love to do genealogy. But I can spend hours on it. And if I get started, the whole day can disappear. Now, it's a reward: when I've accomplished goals a, b and c, then I'll give myself permission to spend some time on it.

Another thing helps with that morning slot is to know just what it is I need or want to accomplish each day. This makes a HUGE difference. I choose no more than three things at any given time. And I write them down as if they are done:

1. The car has passed emissions
2. The taxes are submitted
3. The consulting proposal to ABC organization has been sent in

I may (and do) have a much longer list. But I list no more than three at a time, the things I really really want done.

These things make up the rest of my day.

At the end of the day, I check them off my list and make my list for the next day.

In part because of the work I've started with the book Work With Passion, I'm also asking myself at the end of each day: What did I feel best about today? When did I experience the greatest "passion"?

So what's your schedule, your routine?

Work with Passion

As I mentioned in my opening blog post, I’m starting out this exploration with the support of Nancy Anderson’s Work with Passion: How to do what you love for a living. She initially published this work in 1984. And while not nearly as well known as other such books that subsequently came out, I have always liked hers the best. And over the next several posts, you’ll see why.

I first picked up Work with Passion as I was approaching 30. (For those of you astrology-followers: during my “Saturn Return” -- oh... THAT time of life...)

For me it was that time in life when it’s really hit that school life is behind me, including those early job experiments in retail, administration and temping. It was time to get serious about moving into a CAREER.

I was not one of those people who knew their career goals from birth -- or even upon college graduation. I was -- and remain -- a generalist. With interests in a broad range of topics. How on earth would I CHOOSE?

Back then, this book, with the support of a small group of similarly aged young women asking similar questions, provided a structure for me to explore and establish what would become my career path for the next 20 years.

So it was with some sheepishness that I brought the revised version to the cashier 20 years later (a cashier I might add, who was probably 20 years younger). I mean, c’mon. Shouldn’t I know by NOW what I want to be when I grow up? Hadn’t I figured that out -- at least by my actions -- these last two decades?

I only know that since being laid off, and maybe even earlier, I have had a sense that there is something else out there for me. That it’s time for me to reconnect with what I’m most passionate about. And you know, passions do change-- or at least mature-- along with us. So it really is okay that I’m 50 and picking up this book again, that I’m going to ask myself: just what is it today that makes me feel alive, that moves through my body when (as Anderson describes passion) I care deeply about something, that shows up when I want to do my best and want others to do their best? These things HAVE changed since I was 29. And some that haven’t changed have been sleeping, and long to be awakened.

Please... join with me in the query: When do you feel this sense of passion? When does it show up? How does it make you feel? What do you DO with it?

What's Next?

I spent my 50th birthday at Esalen, near Big Sur, California. I walked, I read, I ate, I soaked, I wrote. And I came away telling the Universe that this would be the year I would listen for what's next in my life.

Six weeks later, I was laid off from my job. Message from the Universe #1.

Yes, I know. There's an economic crisis going on. People are getting laid off all over the country. So this is some message, just for ME? Hey. I choose to see it that way. If it helps me design what's next for me, so be it.

And this blog? I'm also designing it to help me figure out what's next.

Another six weeks have gone by. I spent the first two "on vacation." Reading, eating, sleeping. Then I got bored. I looked for things to do around the house. I had the car's emissions tested and approved. I finished and sent in the taxes. I took in dry cleaning that's been hanging around the house for weeks. I was still bored.

I started updating my various "professional" things. My resume. My bio. My LinkedIn profile. I signed up for the job listings in my field. I signed up for unemployment. But still couldn't quite get into gear, professionally.

I signed up for an art class. I got out my paints, my brushes, my paper and canvas. I started walking and riding my bike in the mornings. I bought and planted perennials and herbs and vegetables. I pulled weeds and ivy. I read, I ate, I slept.

Somewhere in there, I had dinner with a colleague-- another woman exploring what's next. (Message #2: Find a buddy.) We ended up at the bookstore. She bought Nick Lore's Pathfinder. I bought the new edition of What Color is Your Parachute, and also a revised edition of a book I'd used 20 years ago: Work with Passion.

I brought them home. I forgot about them.

Until yesterday.

I opened up the second one. I started journaling along with it.

And then I thought, let's blog about this.

Why?!

1. I need a structure, a commitment, a goal. If I commit, if I promise to you that I will write here at least a few times a week, I will be in action and I will make progress. One inspiration was this woman's A Drawing A Day. It's pretty ballsy to commit publicly to making and posting a drawing every day.

2. One of the things I'm passionate about is writing. Blogging is writing. So consider it a regular practice. Inspiration here? The Artist's Way Morning Pages. Not that I'll use this blog for morning pages, but for the practice of writing every single day.

3. I figure: I'm not the only one struggling. I'm 50, I'm unemployed after a strong career of two decades, and I'm wondering what's next. I bet somebody else out there is similarly struggling. Maybe we can help each other.

So... let's get started. What's Next? Work with Passion by Nancy Anderson.