How to Optimize Your Life for Writing. You’re Already Optimized for Something, Why Not Writing?

I’m a writer and pastor, but my hobby these days is reconnecting with my opera roots.

I got to perform in some local concerts last week that required a lot of singing six out of the seven days.

It was physically challenging, so I had to optimize my life for singing.

That meant:

1. Sleeping more than usual.
2. Eating and drinking a lot of sugar, because I struggle with drying out and surgery candy and drinks keep my throat coated and hydrated.
3. Not talking much during the day.
4. Not working out on performance days in order to avoid straining my voice with all that grunting to life weights.
5. Not dieting at all (even though I sort of need to), because for some reason, calorie deficits cause my throat to dry.

Each day, all day was designed around giving the best performances I could in the evenings.

My days and nights were optimized for opera singing.

Singing high notes (high for me, anyway) and singing them over and over again.

Today, two days after the last concert, I feel physically awful and am struggling to write.

My routine for singing well is not the same as my routine for writing well.

I’ve never thought about optimizing my lifestyle for writing, but today, that’s what I’m thinking about.

Every craft has an ecosystem.

Opera isn’t just about singing.

It’s about arranging your life so that singing is possible.

Writing isn’t just about typing.

It’s about arranging your life so that thinking and communicating on paper is possible.

If sleep, sugar, and vocal rest are the ingredients for singing, what are they for writing? How will I get back into a good headspace for crafting sentences?

Here’s what I’m trying:

1. Prayer. My writing is better when my soul is aligned.
2. Sleep. Fatigue makes every sentence harder.
3. Reading. You can’t write out if you haven’t been reading in.
4. Walking. Some of my best ideas come when my body is moving.
5. Conversation. Good writing often starts with a great conversation.
6. Curiosity. I need to be learning something new all the time.
7. Silence. Too much input crowds out original thought.
8. Exercise. My brain writes better when my body has moved.
9. Healthy food. Unlike singing week, sugar hurts my writing.
10. Long blocks of uninterrupted time. Writing hates fragmentation.
11. Keeping notes. Inspiration doesn’t arrive on schedule.
12. Writing before consuming. Create before you scroll.
13. Limiting social media. It makes me reactive instead of reflective.
14. Church and worship. As a Christian writer, my writing flows from my walk with Jesus.
15. Writing every day. Voice is maintained the way singing is: through regular practice.

Warming Up

At 52 years old, I can’t just start singing challenging music. I have to ease into it. I have to warm up.

For singers, it’s scales, lip trills (although these don’t work well for me), breathing exercises. Singing on an ng, then an oo, then an ah. Nice and easy until it feels right.

For writers, maybe it’s reading something good, copying something great, journaling, writing 500 bad words (I don’t mean bad words like cuss words, just bad sentences), then rewriting a paragraph from yesterday.

Here’s the question: If someone followed you around for a week, would they conclude that your life is optimized for the thing you say matters most?

Your calendar answers this question.

Your sleep answers it.

Your diet answers it.

Your phone answers it.

Your reading habits answer it.

Your life is already optimized for something. The only question is whether it’s optimized for the life you actually want to live.

If you want to write, optimize for writing and do your best work. If you don’t want to optimize your life for it, it might not be what you want to do.

Jeff

IndieChristianBook.com | ChristianGhostwriting.com | ChristianWritingCoach.net

P.S. I’m loving Publisher Rocket. Find the best market fit for your message. Write what you’re called to write, but then propel it into a hungry market. Here’s my affiliate link if you want to try it out.

https://publisherrocket.cartknox.com/buy-rocket?aff=527

P.S.S (or is it P.P.S.?)

I’m going to a Kingdom Communicators event this Saturday in Dallas. These guys are awesome if your calling includes public speaking. Here’s a link to their Skool community. Joining gains you access to these events. You won’t want to miss this.

https://www.skool.com/authors/about?ref=293c1d1605864de59b839d740265a103

‍

‍