Today I have officially met one of my New Year’s goals for 2012!

As many of you know, I have been having some issues with my job. For the most part, I like my job. It can be stressful at times, but I work with some really good people who help keep me sane. Lately, things have been really difficult. There has been a lot of tension in the air and most people don’t know what’s going on. The past few weeks in particular have been rough. I’ve had to work later than usual and have ended up taking the blame for things that are not my fault. Not cool.

The main issue with all of this is that once I have a really bad day at work, the drive to write in the evenings goes way downhill. When I am really tired or really stressed, my writing descends into this: “He was hungry. He went to the store. He bought an apple. It was red.” Boring, right? This was why I was trying to train myself to write in the mornings, figuring that I would get my creative juices going before a stressful workday could shut them down. The problem is that I am naturally a night owl. I really don’t do well getting up early. I have tried really hard, and can do it some mornings, but it’s really hard to make it stick.

So I decided today, despite the weird vibes, I would approach my boss and ask to reduce my hours. I knew it would be best if I sent it as an email – I communicate much better in writing than I do in speaking, especially when I’m nervous. I addressed all the possible objections I could think of, assuring my boss that my work performance would not suffer, that I would still be available to work a full day if I had to cover for someone who was out sick, and promising that if my reduced hours caused any kind of problem, I would go back to a regular schedule. Once I finished, it took me two hours to get up the nerve to actually send it. I heard back in twenty minutes.

My boss said YES!!!!!

She was fine with it, as long as I could still be counted on to cover for people when needed (I am the official “backup” for several positions in the office – one of the only people who can fill in for nearly everyone else). I ran up to her office to thank her in person, and she was so understanding and nice about it. So starting Monday, I will be going into work at 10:00 AM. This will give me nearly TWO FULL HOURS OF DEDICATED WRITING TIME!!! Now there can be no more excuses. I have the time, I just need to get the discipline and actually do it. Nose to the grindstone. Full steam ahead.

I can’t wait ’til Monday!