Circadian Rhythms and Creativity

I have been thinking a lot lately, actually ruminating, about my method of creativity. It occurs to me that I write blogs, memoire and psychological reports in basically the same way. I always have to draft something in long-hand, then let it sit for a minimum of 24 hours or sometimes days or weeks. Until now I always labeled that as procrastination or laziness. But truly I get too much done every day for those nouns to be accurate.

I know that my mind has always gone a mile a minute as they say. When I was a little girl, age 7 or so, I would hide under the covers and use a flashlight to read after being told by my parents to turn out my light. By the time I was 13, I would lay awake until 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning listening to U.S. Radio Stations playing rock and roll. It is any wonder I was late for school 4 out of 5 days a week? When I was in University I ‘pulled-all-nighters’ in order to cram for exams or write essays. And my grades were always good provided I was interested in the subject matter.

With the onset of retirement, I have stopped setting an alarm most days. To my chagrin I have discovered that left to my own devices my body naturally alerts between 7:30 and 8:30. I roll over and snooze for another ½ hour or so, then I get up. A glass of water, a cup of coffee, a piece of fruit and I sit down for the next 2 ½ hours and write Morning Pages (courtesy of The Artists Way by Julia Cameron), then check a couple of websites, play a game or two of cribbage, and do a quick jigsaw puzzle, all on my iPad. Then I eat breakfast. Next, I go a hundred miles an hour until 9:00 PM. I’m tired by then, my bed is inviting me to climb in, when, however unwelcomed, the need to write suddenly seizes me. 

Finally, after all these years I have learned to welcome my muse. I set up my computer and transfer long-hand writing into typing which I edit as I go along. This can continue as late as 1:00 AM. And the whole rhythm repeats the next day. 

This process seems completely natural to me. And low and behold it always has been. It always was I guess although the world I lived in didn’t agree! Apparently, the whole thing is determined by our genetically programmed circadian rhythm. 

Now I want to know why not one author of the myriad ‘How to Write’ books I have read ever described this weird time frame for their creativity. The ones I’ve come across all seem to sit down at the crack of dawn and write for 3, 4, or possibly 6 hours; and that’s their day’s work done. Meanwhile, I am just finishing my breakfast at that point!

I have always envied these authors. But I am not built that way. Finally, the time has come for me to follow the natural rhythm with which I was born. I think it might have been wonderful if I had been a musician playing in a dingy bar somewhere. My creative muse wouldn’t have had to fight so hard to get my attention.

Of course, the good news is I am finally obeying her call.