For the past couple years, my Sundays have followed a distinctive routine. Much of the morning is spent writing out the Tech Talk for the week. I find my mind at its most creative and freshest on Sunday morning. With little else to clutter my thoughts, the focus is entirely on the task at hand. It takes about 2.5-3 hours to write out the week’s Tech Talks. At times, if I know that I am not going to be free the following Sunday (travelling or otherwise), then I will use up the rest of the day writing the additional Tech Talks for the week after next for the simple reason that I find it very difficult to write the Tech Talks on any other day.
Perhaps, it is the pressure of going to work or the lack of a chunky period of time. Sunday morings are indeed special for me now – I let the mind roam free, sit in front of the computer, catch those ideas and convert them to words. Of course, the side-effect of this is that I hate to go out anywhere on Sundays!
Yesterday, as I started writing the Memex series, I got into a good groove and the ideas just flowed. I spent most of the day writing (interrupted by a two-hour sleep in the afternoon). By the end of the day, I had put together 14 columns. Needless to say, I was quite happy with the work.
When I start to think and write, I have an outline of what I want to write. But, more often than that, it is just the act of sitting at the computer and starting to write which lets the ideas and words flow. They seem to take on a life of their own. Quite fascinating how the mind works. I find that all my reading is very helpful as I try and connect threads. I am not a natural writer, but I do love writing and making connections. It is as if the ideas are there – lying waiting to be discovered. Almost like the Memex itself.