Beyond Written Mirror: 24 Hours With Jay Mullings…
Welcome Back To Written Mirror
Greetings and salutations to the ‘Mirror Heads’. Hello to all the newcomers, I promise to be gentle…
Behind The Scenes
Yes! Twenty-four hours with yours truly. I doubt it is going to prove all that fascinating but I have been asked on a few occasions to detail a typical day. Finally that wish is about to be granted. Also I will continue this theme dutifully for the rest of the month. There you go finally some structure! You win!
Disclaimer…
Can we just agree to leave out the typical things like hygiene and clothing etc.? I’m sure no one needs to know which sock I put on first etc.
Jack Bauer stands between America and ruin…
24
The following takes place between 08:00 and 09:00AM *Bauer voice*…
I’m usually on Twitter, at this time. Seeing what I missed the night before and also checking what the people I follow have gotten up to in my absence from the timeline. A laugh or two early in the morning helps, Twitter tends to provide my first shot of entertainment. This can last anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour easily. I have to be careful not to get sucked in. I have a lot to get done in a day.
09:00 – 10:00
I double-check my orders from the night before are set up and ready to be posted. Music is on in the background and I am mentally arranging the rest of the day on the fly. I place my postal bag by the door; there will be no leaving it behind business. I check my emails or at least attempt to by getting rid of the blasted spam and generics.
Apple’s customer service sucks more than a Dyson these days…
10:00 – 11:00
The itch to sit down and just write the day away is very tempting. I sit down at my beautiful desk, fire up the Mac and re-read what I wrote the night before. It’s so easy to stay here and throw myself into the grid. However, I’ve got to get the boring bits out of the way or I will just let it pile up and become an inefficient pile of sludge. Besides the weather is decent now, got to catch some fresh air…
Sneaks of Rage
11:00 – 12:00
Postal run mixed with light exercise. I’m not currently a member of any gyms on account of Virgin Active ending it’s lease on North Road (cheers guys) and Merton Council not finding another gym to take over the more than adequate facilities but I digress. Yoga and compound lift time has become walk to the post office and admin time. Yippee I am so happy (not)!
12:00 – 13:00 & 13:00 – 14:00
I am back in the office and I am ready to do some serious harm to the blank page! Music on and off I go! Blogs, Poetry, Scripts, Books this is a warm up session. Anything I can get out of this time is great. It goes by quickly and usually I have written something useful here. If it’s a blog I re-check for grammar issues and so forth. I then duplicate it for my website as I don’t trust those publishing plug ins. They mess up the format and I can’t have that…
14:00 – 15:00
More orders might have come through and I know what I am like so I try to leave not so subtle hints to myself by putting the contents where I can’t miss them. Later on I will package things up. This is nothing I need concern myself with just yet especially, as I have already done the post for the day.
15:00 – 16:00
I’ve probably got some forms to fill in, some reading to do or something time sensitive that is going to slow me down at one point or the next so I chip away at it now. Also, I live near a school so the commotion during the school run is going to annoy me anyhow.
16:00 – 17:00
Most of you are finished your working days around this point or thinking about clocking off. Not me! I may refuel real quickly; send the odd email, tweet a little bit more but it’s right back into writing. Music may become sports debate videos, or Ted Talks; it really depends on my mood.
17:00 – 18:00
Yes I am still at it. I’m squeezing that orange or I am convincing myself to enjoy the process and not rush. Pages are flowing by this point and I feel invincible. Still I don’t want it being too easy or convenient. I take a break; I’ll do anything and everything I want for the next hour or two.
Complimentary brainwaves….
18:00 – 19:00 and 19:00 – 20:00
PS4, Netflix, Prime, YouTube, Reading, Colouring, Drinking or time at the park. I am definitely not going to let this day pass without some time for me. I work hard and I try to direct debit some fun into my day. Some of you may think, “Why interrupt your flow state to do this?” It would be a valid question. However, I have not experienced any Writer’s block in my entire life. In short, it works! If I was taking regular holidays and spa retreats etc. Maybe I wouldn’t interrupt things but for now these are the levels…
20:00 – 21:00
I’m pretty social during this time. I’ll shout my friends, family or scroll the gram; yes I call Instagram ‘the gram’ as it’s an addiction for a lot of us so may as well. I put up videos of things I have seen or music I am listening. Oh and sometimes me making magic happen in the kitchen!
YUM!
21:00 – 22:00
Study time! I will watch an episode or two of whatever I am into. I’ll usually rate the programs out of ten on IMDB straight after. I pause, rewind and question everything. Yes I study tape like a baller/fighter/manager/coach. How can I expect to be great without supplementing my knowledge with other real world examples?
22:00 – 23:00
If one episode didn’t satisfy, I will double the dose. Sometimes I cheat a little and write while watching. I’ve smashed through so many pages watching things in the background that don’t require my full attention. Honourable mention to shows like Entourage, Ballers, Californication and House of Lies. You made good company for me on my writing.
23:00 – 00:00
Things are getting quieter now and I am quite sensitive to changes in sound. I have to start turning things down a little more too. This is the time when I’d rather play PS4 or do something fun than write but I know hard work is the key to success and so I’m still at my desk. I’ll reply to the odd message and take the odd call but for the most part I am putting in the work. Oh and I am fulfilling those orders I left those big clues about. Things go into bags and inscriptions get written etc. There is a method to my madness…
Mad Max Time!!!
00:00 – 01:00
Okay maybe a little PS4 won’t hurt! Even now my mind is ticking away. Why do I like this game? What bits of the game really work and where could they have improved? Okay maybe relax a little and just enjoy it now. Yeah but this is what makes careers, having the answers to questions others just blindly accept as not needing any…
01:00 – 02:00
I can do this all day! Okay Captain Britain! Maybe go and rest your eyes. You’ve been looking a screen of some sort for the entire day. Who cares if you can’t sleep? Just go sit in the dark until you get tired. Pick a number from 30 – 50. Good, now give me that number in push-ups…
Isn’t she a beauty?
02:00 – 03:00
I can’t sleep so it’s a late night cruise; I love London at night. You can hear the entire city breathe. Lights are splendidly stuck on green and I can really take in the best the capital has to offer. Sometimes the best London has to offer at this time is a casino ha-ha! ‘Tree House’ was all about defying the odds! Embankment on a late night cruise is immense! Can’t wait until I get back inside to write some more pages…
Lovely…
03:00 – 04:00
This is getting out of hand. Time to power down. I dab a little lavender/ylang ylang essential oil on my pressure points and on my pillows. Sometimes I drink special sleep tea, I dig out the binaural beats and try to find a sleep frequency and then…
04:00 – 07:00
I got three hours? That’s not bad you know! Let’s start this all over again!!!
07:00 – 08:00
Seems a lot like we’ve seen this movie before. Thank you for watching it with me nonetheless…
A Super Special Thanks
To everyone who has been supporting the journey. Those of you who have The Thought Book and are patiently waiting on the second, respect! Love for really showing an interest in the Written Mirror merchandise. The T-shirts are growing in popularity and I can’t tell you just how much that means to me. You’ve not only supported me on my journey but also kept me from falling into the abyss of self doubt. Maximum love and respect to you all for that.
Written Mirror Merchandise
Those of you who havent’t gotten your T-shirts or The Thought Book as yet, what are you waiting for? Get involved! You know you want to! That and all proceeds go to the help Jay continue writing awesome content (like this) benevolent fund…
