The Right Time

It's simple, it's powerful, and it's well worth getting to know if you want to make the most of you precious creativity.

What am I talking about (as you must so often ask, poor, long-suffering reader of my musings)?

I'm talking your peak performance time. 

This is mine. Not the chilly days of the winter, but the mornings, all year around.

I discovered the right time for me years ago, when I began writing novels. 

I was still with the BBC then, as a News Correspondent, which was a busy job to say the least. 

Still, I was determined to start writing, so I experimented with when I could actually have a chance to get some words down. 

The evenings I found I was too tired. The inspiration just wouldn't come.

(Excuse the random sunset through King's College, but it is rather pretty, and you know I'm a sucker for a lovely snap.)

Which, if evenings were out, left me only one option. The mornings. 

So, I started going to bed earlier, then getting up with the dawn, if not before...

And immediately found I loved it. 

That wonderful quiet, so rare in our noisy modern world. The space, the stillness.

The time to focus, concentrate, let the creativity flow. 

And, to be frank, the smug self satisfaction of being at work when most others were still snoring.

That's the way it's worked ever since. I'm a proudly, fully paid up, morning person. 

Whether I'm writing a radio comedy, a new book, a speech, or a series of lectures, they all come stamped Made in the Morning.

Which isn't to say I don't enjoy evenings. Especially those loving, hazy embraces of the sweet summertime. 

Like the enchanting writing festivals I'm fortunate enough to teach at - above, sundown at my dear Swanwick.

But back to the point, after yet more of my meanderings (apologies). 

Whether you're the proverbial lark, or indeed owl, it's well worth getting to know The Right Time for your creativity to flow. 

I can promise it will serve you well in life - just as it has me.