If you’ve never read Elizabeth Bear’s journal (see sidebar, and go visit her) you’re missing out on one of the best examples of the daily working writer I’ve seen. She writes at a steady pace, not in 50 page sprints followed by a crash. She does regular exercise and gets out of the house frequently. I find her a refreshing reminder that you can accomplish mammoth amounts of quality work and still have a life. You do not have to be chained to the keyboard morning, noon and night. In fact, the daily routine is probably the key to producing mammoth amounts of quality work.

I have been working at making my own life more daily, making sure that all the important things get time. This doesn’t always work out; this week there were too many things that came up and had to be taken care of, so I have to give myself a fail for the workout goal. (Goal is 2 weight workouts and 2 walks. I’ll have one of each in.)

Even when I miss weekly goals, I still find slow and steady and well-rounded is a better way to live. Is your daily routine working for you?