When Daylight Savings Time Ends

I think it was Monday of this week when I bounded out of bed and hit the day! I have a whole slew of “morning stuff” to do and off I went, accomplishing all kinds of things. Geez, I thought, my stomach sort of growling, all chores completed, it must be almost noon. I glanced at my watch. 

It was 9:37 AM. 

Thus begins my life when Daylight Savings Time ends. And though it may look swell, getting a head start on the day, I kinda hate it. And by “kinda,” I mean I really hate it. 

See, I work in “blocks” and when it gets dark earlier, that late afternoon block is all messed up; stuff has to be rearranged to accommodate the time change. I have to not only reset my internal clock but also the “blocks” so it’s basically My. Entire. Schedule. UGH. 

And lest you think I’m just ranting for the fun of it, I have a point (and it’s connected to writing). I’ve had some extra time (see above) to think a bit and come up with a few lessons learned applicable to writing (and probably life, too). 

First, the time change doesn’t have to be a negative for me; I choose to see it that way. That conclusion made me wonder how many times in my writing career I’ve made something into a negative because that’s how I choose to see it. 

 A rejection, critical feedback, a contest loss…sure, none of those fill me with glee. But taking a moment to see what I can learn from those experiences, and how I can improve my writing skills, is the positive side of those seeming failures. Bottom line, I can choose how I’ll react and so can you. Which brings me to the second point. 

Pushing the reset button on my schedule because of the time change is not that big of a deal. In fact, it’s completely doable. It’s just that I…(and now I’m gritting my teeth) don’t…want…to do it. And that made me wonder how often I’ve resisted change when it comes to both big and little writing things. 

It’s a simple fix, changing my writing schedule, but because I don’t want to do it, I spend a week or two dragging my feet. Meanwhile, I’ve blown a couple weeks and maybe momentum all because of my stubbornness (and let’s face it, an alarming lack of maturity). 

Looking at bigger changes is even tougher. I’ve spent months avoiding a major revision that was clearly called for just because I knew it would be hard. Funny, waiting six or seven months didn’t make it easier. 

Getting stuck in a crummy gig or with a crummy critique partner…I’ve been there, done that. And I resisted making the changes I knew were necessary because I just didn’t want to face the initial unpleasantness that often comes along with change. ‘Cause ultimately, change often brings something better. 

I’ve wasted a lot of time, resisting change. Probably way more time than it takes for me to get used to the time change. But the good news is, I’ve learned my lesson. 

At least until next November.

~Cathy C. Hall