Some of you have asked for a sneak peek inside my day as a writer. I am retired, loving retirement life, and now I’m living my dream. Every day is different, with interjections of life that happen, but after 2 years of retirement, and figuring out what that means, I’ve built in specific structures that keep me focused on specific writing, health goals, and more intentional living.

Here’s how it plays out right now. (This, of course, evolves as other life dynamics influence how my day rolls.)

Upon the dawn of a new day, or moments before the sun crests the horizon, I walk at least 3 miles. My walk involves weight lifting to keep my arms and upper body moving as my legs carry me on my journey. YouTube videos keep me walking in fresh places when I’m treadmill-bound due to weather. The walking rigor causes me to glisten (okay, sweat) resulting in a nice, follow-up, refreshing shower.

Then, I’m ready to hit the ground running as I do the write stuff. I journal a few notes about how I’m feeling, what I need, and what I’d love and then I jump into writing: blogs, children’s books, a memoir, and other writing objectives I set for myself to hit my daily word count. Each day I choose a different writing focus, so I’m making incremental progress on all my goals. To keep things fresh, I have a list of trainings I’m completing to hone my craft and learn new things. I set an hour timer to get my focus on, and at the end of each hour, I give myself a break.

I use my breaks to complete a variety of things to feed my soul and get my body moving. These include: a daily calm activity (a 7-8 minute meditation or a focused point to ponder), a 5-minute move, chair yoga or dancing (I don’t navigate floor exercises like I used to), and reading. These things help break up my writing, get my butt out of the chair, and keep my mind fresh.

By early or mid-afternoon, I either hang with my dear, darling husband, indulge in a nap, or tend to running errands and such. I eat when I’m hungry, and I keep something succulent in my teacup to sip on.

Everyone has their own routines that work for them. The key is keeping those aligned to reflect what’s in your heart and the intentions you set out for yourself. If I’ve lulled you into a nice snooze, enjoy your rest! Maybe, just maybe, sharing my daily structure gives you some fresh ideas for you to play with. Now you’ve seen inside my day. The End.