WANDER INTO SOMETHING NEW

Before starting to write in the morning, I like to get ready and dress up as if I am going to an office. This helps me to jumpstart my work and to focus. I am also a student of Hindustani classical music, and I usually start my riyaaz in the late afternoon. Music is storytelling through sound, while writing is storytelling through words, and the two creative endeavours reinforce one another.

From around 3 decades of work experience I don’t have any issues with focusing for long hours, but at home in the day there can be distractions with people coming and going. Occasionally if I need to put in continuous focused work I work overnight, sometimes for 12-16 hours at a stretch.

I start working at the same time everyday, to get myself into the mode of starting a workday. I also divide the day up into segments because I work on multiple projects, so project 1 would be up till lunchtime and project 2 from after lunch to evening.

I have 5 cats, one of my cats Lila loves giving me company as I work and plonks herself on my keyboard or journal as soon as I open it. I saw a video sometime back of someone who made a fake laptop for their cat to sit on, so that they could work on their own. This actually works! So I open a journal for Lila to ‘work on’, and she is happy to contribute by sitting on that one while I work on my own sketchbook or laptop.

I write down my daily to-do list and categorise tasks by length. I love starting with the quick wins (anything under 5 minutes) because I can knock out several in a row. Watching them get ticked off creates momentum that carries me through the longer tasks. My desk is where my inner child gets to come out and play. I keep it decorated with childhood iconography, miniatures, and fun things that genuinely excite me about being there.