We each have a story to tell. Nothing falls apart when we give ourselves permission to tell it on our own terms. Once I believed and experienced those two things, I was able to develop a flexible writing schedule to meet my needs and those of my clients.
I am a perfectionist at heart. On the other side of that coin sits anxiety that can cripple me to the point where I cannot pick what to write, cannot decide where to start, and end up doing nothing at all. Then there are the other days. The days when I am completely dialed in and could write with total abandon from morning until the sun goes down.
The gap between those two versions of me is wide. Learning to live productively in that gap is what this post is really about.
The Journey That Led Me Here
Health conditions and a cross-country move created significant changes in my personal and professional life over the past few years. The result was inconsistent writing. I poured my energy into client projects, and somewhere along the way, I forgot that I genuinely love writing my own stories, too.
Living with CML (Chronic Myeloid Leukemia) has a way of reshaping your priorities, whether you are ready for that reshaping or not. There are seasons when energy is abundant and seasons when getting through the day is the accomplishment. A rigid writing schedule does not survive those seasons. A flexible one can.
I started a Substack called Writer Ramblings, which has been on hiatus while I figure out the next direction. Having that space for personal stories and journeys has been meaningful, even during the quiet stretches. This year I am also breathing new life into my Medium writing, with a focus on my health journey with CML and building a writing business.
One unexpected shift came from using AI to establish, evaluate, and adjust both personal and professional routines. I feel more grounded and focused on attainable goals as a result. My word for 2026 is EXECUTE. Execute ideas, stories, projects, and the goals that have been sitting in my head long enough.
The question is then, what does execution actually look like when your energy, focus, and circumstances are unpredictable?
It looks like a flexible writing schedule.
What a Flexible Writing Schedule Actually Looks Like
Flexible does not mean unintentional. That distinction matters.
A flexible writing schedule means you have a framework that bends without breaking. It accounts for the hard days, the slow seasons, and the unexpected projects that land in your inbox without warning. It does not demand perfection. It demands consistency over time, not consistency every single day.
For me, this schedule combines personal and business writing without forcing me to choose between them. Client work gets done. My own content moves forward. There is room for both, and there has always been room for both.
If it is a slow client season, I have a novel waiting. If it is a busy season, I am creating content for clients and my own websites. Two prospective projects came to me recently, and one project that had been on hold is being revived. I embrace all of it. A flexible schedule means you are ready when opportunity shows up, instead of scrambling to make space for it.
Don’t be rigid about the plan and give yourself grace. Change happens. You can count on it.
What Time of Day Are You Most Productive?
Here is something I had to learn the hard way: fighting your natural rhythm is a losing battle.
I don’t write at the same time every day, and I stopped feeling guilty about that a long time ago. My most productive window tends to be after walking the dog and grabbing coffee. The morning air and a little movement seem to unlock something. There are also days when late afternoon, right before dinnertime, is when the words flow best.
Mid-day is reserved for the tasks that don’t require as much mental focus. Housework, laundry, a long walk. These aren’t wasted hours. They are the hours that make the focused ones possible.
Pay attention to your own patterns for a week or two before you commit to a schedule. You might be surprised by when you are actually at your sharpest, and it may not be when you think you should be.
Find your window. Protect it.
What Environment Works Best for Writing?
Years ago, I had a table at a local coffee shop where I would sit, drink coffee, eat scones, and write the day away. Then another customer started coming in and claimed my table. We would joke about it. He insisted it was his most productive spot, too. I don’t know what it was about that particular table in that particular coffee shop, but it was magical.
Environment matters more than most writers admit. The right space puts you in the right headspace before you type a single word.
Now I have a comfy office chair, a standing desk (which, to be honest, functions as a sitting desk most of the time), and lighting that creates a sense of calm in what is otherwise a chaotic space. My office also serves as the library, overflow storage, my husband’s evening gym, and the occasional guest room. My desk faces the windows and the library area, away from the rest of the room, which makes it easy to focus when I need to.
I write while listening to music. Classical or lo-fi without lyrics, most of the time. Other writers I know swear by silence late at night after their families are asleep. A friend of mine listens to talk radio while she writes; she tackles client work early in the morning, so her own content gets her best afternoon hours.
Find what works for you and lean into that. It may evolve over time, the way my coffee shop table eventually became a home office setup, and that is perfectly okay. The goal is a space that signals to your brain that it is time to write.
What Happens When Writer’s Block Shows Up?
It will show up. Planning for it is part of having a flexible writing schedule.
Writer’s block is not a character flaw. It is part of the process, and the writers who handle it best are the ones who have a plan before they need one.
When I hit a wall, I go for a long walk. Sunshine and fresh air do wonders for clarity and creativity. When I come back, I am almost always ready to write. Over the years, I have also built a toolkit for exactly these moments: writing prompts, an ideas folder in my email, and a book of quotes or poems nearby for when I need the muse to show up and give her a little help.
I’ll say this louder for you: having a system for the hard days matters more than willpower.
Willpower runs out. A good ideas folder does not.
Permission to Make It Your Own
Afterall, the most important thing about a writing schedule is that it actually works for your life. Not someone else’s life. Not the schedule you think you should have. Yours.
If daily writing feels impossible right now, once a week is better than zero. If mornings are chaos, afternoons might be your answer. If your office doubles as a guest room and a gym, face your desk toward the window and put on some good music.
The flexible writing schedule I have today looks nothing like what I imagined a “real” writing routine would be. It is built around health, client commitments, personal goals, and the honest reality of what I can sustain. That is exactly why it works.
Life is a journey. Embrace it.
Happy writing.
Thinking about writing your own book but not sure where to start? Whether you need a book coach to guide you through the process or want to explore ghostwriting services, let’s talk.
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