I’ve noticed a pattern. I’ve been posting daily on this blog for over thirteen years now. During the past two of those, several days (including the day before yesterday) have gone without a post. It’s not that they haven’t been written—no, I have a surplus of ideas—it’s because of the pattern I mention. I know that early morning is a bad time to be active on social media. Few others are awake and by the time they are many, many more posts come on top of my meager efforts. So in my reptilian brain, I think, “Maybe I should wait until about 6:30 to post—you know, when people are awake.” My reptilian brain tends to rise between three and four (sometimes earlier) and so I really do believe people are shaking off sleep at around 6:30. I think this although my family repeatedly assures me it’s just not true.
In any case, I load up my daily post on WordPress before starting work, which I also do early. The pattern for the days I forget to post is this: something sets off my early morning schedule and I forget to click “publish” before getting engrossed with work. I guess I need a blog posting alarm clock. For example, two days ago I had an early author call from someone in Europe. I don’t mind early calls, as long as they’re pre-arranged, but that meant I had to jog early so that I could get dressed in time—I don’t like meeting someone for business for the first time wearing sweats. By the time I’d jogged, changed, and wolfed down breakfast, I’d forgotten to click “publish” for the post already loaded up and ready to go. Any interruption to my schedule can do this. Just last month I forgot because election results were coming in. I need that alarm clock.
Posting daily is a happy part of my routine. I’ve done in when I have a flight out of the country later in the day. Or when I’m overseas, I make sure to post ultra early Eastern Time (presuming I’m flying east) to make sure I get one post in each day. If I fly west I post ultra early local time so that I can keep it about the same time as usual, or else I post later than usual—time zones flummox me. (So far those western flights haven’t been out of the country, I would note.) When I forget to post, however, I’m home and something disrupts my morning schedule. Those who live by the clock, I’m told, die by the clock. And when that happens, I’ll probably have a post loaded but I hope I’ll be forgiven if I forget to click “publish,” even if my alarm clock does go off.
