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I am often asked what a typical day is like for me. And before the end of December 2020, the answer was clear, at least for the first part of the day.
I got up, and after my morning splish-splash, when I found myself in a state that could be called ‘decent’, I went downstairs and turned on the coffee machine. I let the dogs out, opened the blinds and the curtains, got the newspaper out of the mailbox, poured myself a cup of coffee, put the coffee cup next to the newspaper, read the latest from very close and very far, and drank my coffee while digesting all the information.
A ritual that had not changed for decades was disrupted when my newspaper provider realized it would be cheaper to distribute the newspaper not by early delivery, but by mail. I’ve been living without a newspaper in the morning for a couple of years now, and I am barely hanging on.
My morning routine upstairs is still the same. The splish-splash, then getting halfway decent before I go downstairs. I still turn on the coffeemaker, let the dogs out, open blinds, and the curtains, but after that, it all has changed.
I am living a nightmare, have fallen into a state of chaos, and have given up all manners, so it seems. I would like to tell you now that I approach the rest of the day — and my work — in a very disciplined and clearly structured way, but that would be an outright lie.
Now I have coffee on my desk and I read the news on a big screen, or a little screen which I hold in my hand, my back turned toward life. Without my daily morning emails and texts from known and unknown people, I would be standing ritualless and helpless in the line of the lost. And NO — and this I am writing with my neck hair standing up— reading the news online is NOT a substitute for reading a printed newspaper in the early morning.
After a morning without a printed newspaper, I release myself to the rest of the day. Work and house, or is it house and work? Husband and dogs —in this order until I confess otherwise.
Sometimes I wonder if I’m doing anything at all and if so, what. How often and how much I work in my workroom is a miracle to all. Whether and how I can get projects off the ground that I have set out to do. Do I keep my deadlines, or do I procrastinate? Is all this measurable at all? How many breaks do I take? How much time do I spend online? How much time is spent offline with work, the house, and the dogs?
Recently, I read that if you are at this point where you ask yourself: “Have I achieved anything at all today/this week/this month/this year and/or have I more or less just procrastinated?” Then you should write it all down and look at what you have done. It sounds time-consuming, but — and this might not surprise some — that’s exactly what I did, and the checked-off points in my bullet journal showed me that it wasn’t so little.
I worked in my workroom and house, I worked outside, I worked the dogs, I worked on myself —some days more than others.
I blogged, read and edited, wrote, kept appointments, was a secretary, a maid, a nurse, a lover, a partner, a friend, and a neighbor and my own social media consultant. I juggled three craft projects, one large and two smaller ones, and almost slightly exceeded my monthly income, until I had to (again) pay more for my supplies than last month due to a price increase we are not supposed to notice —or mention.
I have all these activities mentioned above for a wide variety of days, and still, a concrete pattern is not emerging, and a repetitive daily routine cannot be found. I think that makes it difficult to see what I have done. But these very different daily routines are also exactly what I like. I can no longer imagine regular working hours and obligations. I find it far too restrictive. I need the daily chaos in my workroom, the unknown complications I fear and love, the challenges, the daily wonder.
I still have time to go for walks, meditate, watch the birds, bathe the dogs —or vice versa. I have time to get sick and heal, I have time to rant and curse, I have time to love.
And right now, at 10:58 am when I am writing this, waiting for a customer who hopefully will be late, because I am not done yet (writing and/or thinking), I can’t help but think about the good old times again, when I still had the time and leisure for my printed newspaper.
No, life will never be the same. As for a typical day?
And then there was silence…
We had a local afternoon paper here and when I subscribed I would read it after dinner. I miss the newsprint, the feel, the smell, the occasional bright color post on the front page. It was not a big time paper but it kept me up to date on local news. Now it is a digital subscription… I find I don’t go into it daily because I miss the nostalgia of a physical paper in my hands. Guess that is why I still frequent the area book stores instead of just downloading a Kindle copy.
I didn’t realize how much I missed the printed newspaper until I started writing about it. I wish someone would pick up on it and start reprinting just one nationwide newspaper.
I don’t even think USA Today is still in print. So many are just digital now.
I have not read a newspaper since I stopped setting cryptic crosswords for them about 15 years ago. Now the first 3/4 hours of the day is spent with blog comments.
Blogging comments instead crossword. Not a bad trade.
Yep
I remember, too, getting a newspaper at the end of the driveway and spending some time every morning reading it. It was a nice way to start the day. Now things are, of course, different. And now that I’m retired there’s no specific order to my mornings beyond making sure Penny gets fed first before anything else. Mostly because she pouts if I don’t. Here it is 8:14 a.m. and my stomach is growling and I haven’t made myself breakfast, but she’s had hers and been outside 2x already and is now asleep on my feet. I don’t want to get up to make my breakfast because she’s sleeping. There’s something wrong with this picture.
I really miss reading a printed paper in the morning. It was more than just reading the news. Crossword, cartoons, opinions, culture and of course traveling. I had to laugh when I read about Penny’s second breakfast, before you get your first. It’s just like in our house.
My 81yo mom loves her daily ritual with the Toronto Star print edition. She has a phone and is more than happy to read some news on a screen, but if the printed newspaper were to go away, it would sadden her as much as it saddens you. This habitual thing has been part of her life, her mornings, for so long… I understand exactly what you’re talking about.
She reads the Swiss news at night,in bed before bed, on her phone. She reads a newsletter from the Swiss consulate as well. Another ritual, but a technological one.
I hate how quickly we seem to throw out all the old routines and habits. Our lives have changed drastically in the last 20 years and honestly, I think we can already tell that not all of it was good. Now we are thrown into AI without any regulations or oversight. It’s downright scary. Thank you for sharing your Mom’s rituals with me.
I enjoyed reading this quiet and reflective piece. Nice tip of the hat to that which is not to be mentioned, btw.
You made me grin. “The not mentioned” very good. 🙂
Don’t mention it 😆
Girl you gotta let those print newspapers go : ) I hated ink getting all in my fingers at breakfast. It sounds like you have a good routine and that’s what builds a life!
Why? Because I am older? Because they were bad? Because we can’t love anything from before?
I had no choice then to let the newspaper go 🙂 But I still miss it. Not all that’s new or more modern is automatically better. If we don’t question changes, we will become mindless followers of every new trend. That’s not who I want to be.
Hello Bridget,
It is Lara from disability intersection. I am still alive and have been doing more things and I still read and love your work and am over here caring about you and your honesty and humor. You do and bring a lot. Keep going.
There are both pluses and minuses to a routine. When I first retired from full-time work, I sought ways to give back to the community and happily pursued a couple of volunteer opportunities. Eventually, ill health dictated that I step back from these, so now I am more than happy to have barely any routine at all!
Peter, I hope your health will improve and you will be able to volunteer work again, because an inner voice tells me you liked it a lot. But even if we can’t do it physical anymore, for various reasons, there is always something we can do. I am thinking of you.
Thank you, Bridget. You are quite right, I loved it!
Peter, I always wanted you to be one of my BETA readers for the whole book, but I didn’t dare asking you anymore when I learned about your health issues.
I had to decline lots of things around that time, sadly!
Goodness, no, don’t worry. I have just started to reach out to people. Turns out not many want to read a test book, and not many would be helpful in taking notes. I assume this is all part of the hair-pulling process 🙂
I am having fun and again, I wish you will be back on your feet quickly.
Thank you 🤗💛
Newspaper journalist with 30 years of experience here.
Read this with a sigh.
In 2004, a colleague and I were grateful our publication had shifted from twice-weekly to just weekly. Less stress, he thought.
The pace of life and pace of politics make it hard to produce print news of any daily value.
My dream is still to be a newspaper editor. The print kind. Wonder if it will happen. Would anyone pay to read it?
You would be the perfect beta reader sigh.
I miss my morning newspaper and I miss how we handled the news back then. Just ten years ago there was a time limit and we digested facts, not opinions. And when we wanted opinions, we knew were to find them, in the “Opinionated Section.”
The pace of life and the pace of news today is unhealthy. We don’t digest, we get bombarded with headlines. No time left to think. We give out ‘prayers and thoughts’ like candy out of ball machine. We move too quickly, believe to much, question too little.
Oh goodness, now I can’t shut up…sorry.