I often forget that stealing hours from sleep is not worth it — I have to pay back soon, usually on the very next day. Today was one such day.

I stayed up till late, doing nothing unavoidable. I read, or rather skimmed, some purposeless writing. I found nothing that interested me, but I kept on browsing with the hope that I would. And before I knew it, I was well past my routine bedtime. Thus I woke up late, which cascadingly screwed up my whole morning routine.

Missing my morning tea, though, was the most catastrophic effect this had today. I usually need my cup before the #life's chaos in gulps it down. I couldn't have my tea till the sun had risen more than I liked. I knew my productivity had gone for a toss.

The evening was better, though. I went on an unplanned walk around the neighbourhood, taking care of an unplanned but long-pending task. I hoped to mend the tea saga in the morning, so I drank jaggery tea at a nice-looking eatery. The tea saga only worsened, and let's leave it at that.

A few nice cafes have sprung up nearby that I had no clue existed. Neighbourhood passes you by as you pass by driving.

I wish I had taken a couple of pictures during the walk. Maybe next time. Without a tea saga of any sort.

I have decided to change my routine from being an early-morning person to becoming a late-night guy. I realized that the mornings did not leave me with much time. The routine got packed recently with the added responsibility of Snoopy gobbling up the mornings. It just didn't leave me much time to read and write.

So when Snoopy recently started going to bed early, leaving me a silent hour at night, I couldn't pass on the opportunity. I sit alone with my laptop and a blinking cursor at write.as. There is hardly any noise around as my wife and daughter are in bed with their thoughts. Doing their stuff.

Mornings in my #life had stopped being calm. I was always praying that others should not wake up early. Before that, I should. Even if I did wake up, I felt sleepy. Thoughts ceased to come through. There was always something waiting to clog my mind.

“Maybe I should read the news first?” “I shouldn't make too much noise, or I will wake others”. “Let me just lie down for 15 minutes”. And on and on.

That's not how I remember a productive morning routine. It was time to change things. I have. I have no idea if this works. I hope, for the sake of my writing, that it does.