The past 5-8 years, almost all my travels have been for work. Yes, there were exceptions and they were all unremarkable. I don’t count them anymore. My family wouldn’t let me. For a good reason, of course!
One my struggles during travel these days is to stick with my writing schedule — primarily because I have a hard time waking up early. There’s a lot of catching-up and exploration to be done (so much more than usual) besides work that I have to compromise on what seems to be my biggest personal priority — to show up here regardless.
And to success in this, I strive to reset my schedule and make it as close to my day-to-day routine when I’m home. That does the trick for me. I think when you travel schedule mimics your normal routine, you’ve created a system that doesn’t let your brain do a lot of thinking but straight up start processing it as usual. That’s a productivist’s dream! (Did I just make up a meaningful word there?)
I don’t know about you but writing doesn’t have all the stress it used to carry years before. It’s become part of who I am and what I naturally do. Yes, there are days when I don’t have something “original” to say but do I have to? I’m not sure. I can be myself and that’s precisely what writing has taught me — to be myself despite.
If you’re struggling to take out time for one of your personal priorities, I think it’s big time you think of ways to get your life back on the track. Believe me once you’ve made up your mind, you’ve got to really try hard to mess it up.