Publishing The Bulletin part 2: Weekend routine
This week is the second instalment of the previous post in Notes that has a “behind the scenes” sneak peek into the makings of The Bulletin. I was surprised about the reaction to the first instalment with many of you curious about my weekly routine, so this accompanying piece should round off your curiosity quite nicely.
I have always enjoyed having a rigid routine and especially during these past eleven months, by setting myself a daily, weekly and weekend structure that allows for an adequate amount of rest, productivity, personal development and learning and with ample exercise and fresh air. A simple and practised routine is something we can all be in control of, even if it seems as though there are so many swirling exterior factors that are out of our control.
My weekend schedule:
Unlike my weekday schedule, I do not set an alarm on Saturday as I usually wake up naturally around 6.30 am regardless, so that means no late Friday nights either! In the summer the air conditioning is well appreciated however in the winter I sleep without the heating on (perhaps years of being at an English boarding school with no heating) so this morning when I woke up, it was a brisk 12 degrees (53°F) and in addition, a cooler nighttime environment has been proven to instigate a deeper level of sleep.
I still glance at my phone on waking just to take a quick look at the front page news, check to see if any emails have come in or a new thread on my family's messenger group. I’m still searching for the wireless kettle that switches on via an app or Alexa, so if anyone knows of one please let me know.
Saturday
7 am
I’m very fortunate to have a south-facing kitchen window so coffee making comes with the companion of watching the sunrise, especially in the winter. During the summer the sunrise occurs much further to the east and sadly is out of view.
Similar to my weekday schedule, I’ll sit down with my coffee, breakfast and my iPad and will comb over a variety of news apps including the FT Weekend, The Times UK app and the BBC website, just get a sense of what other time zones woke up to earlier that morning. Emails are usually non-existent on Saturday mornings apart from the regular weekend newsletters that are more casual and social in tone and subject.
As I tend to write better in the morning, I will usually then start putting the framework of the Sunday edition of The Bulletin together, adding in some notes and thoughts from the week and also the key news and opinions I want to publish in the new edition. Nothing complicated, just some notes in Google docs or in the Notes app.
9 am
Before I continue working on The Bulletin, I’ll get ready and head out for the daily walk. I have more time on weekends, so will try to push out 10km around the city and usually without any accompanying podcasts or even music. Unplugging sometimes is very beneficial!
11 am
I return home and will then start setting things up on my computer to review saved articles, read through any handwritten notes I made during the week and then will group the topics into buckets, depending on which section of The Bulletin the piece will go into. Every week there is so much news in our industry that I purposely choose not to include everything, instead opting for news and interesting developments that interest me and hopefully interest you, the reader. The Bulletin will always be about personal and relevant curation.
12 noon
Lunch and usual soup in winter and a salad in summer.
1 pm
Back to writing more content and I will complete some of the “easy” sections, such as Diversion, Infographic (or Report) On Point and the And Finally section.
3 pm
That’s it for the day as I’m usually running out of steam at this time. I will go out for another walk, run some errands or will watch a new series or read something that is not related to work. The evening is mine and unless I have a family or friends video call or find myself in the YouTube rabbit-hole, it’s usually an early and uneventful night.
Sunday
4.45 am
The alarm sounds. Rise and shine! It’s publication day.
6 am
Armed with coffee, I’ll sit down and will plough through writing, editing and reviewing for the next 4-5 hours. It’s surprising how quickly time passes when you are under your own personal deadline. During the first few issues, it was far too easy to get distracted. There was always something more interesting to read or watch online, or the morning would evolve into multiple wanderings to stare outside the window or walks to the kitchen where the fridge door would find itself being opened up far too many times.
Noon
By midday, I hope to be at the point of final editing. I write each edition in Google docs as there is an autosave function. I learnt a hard lesson writing raw straight into Squarespace and didn’t realize that there wasn't an autosave and my computer crashed and I lost five hours of work. Once complete I will then copy-paste the text for each section from Google docs to Squarespace, choosing and adding images if needed (which is also a very enjoyable part)
1 pm
It’s crunch time. Conscious of readers in Europe and other time zones who may be starting to wind down for their evening compared to my Eastern time zone, I run through some last-minute checks and print the entire edition out on paper. Then I sit down with a pen and hand-edit and check the copy just one last time. I will always find something to change or correct. Then the new edition is ready and I will send it out to all my subscribers. I usually turn the computer off and close everything up. I don’t dwell on open rates or clicks or analytics until later in the week. I know the edition has gone out because a number of you always send me an email or a text with comments or kind words, which are both equally appreciated!
1.30 pm
With the computer now closed up and my desk tidied, I will head outside for a long walk again to shake off my “writer’s brain” and will usually catch up with some weekend podcasts. The rest of my Sunday is spent reading or watching a new series or film (after spending 45 minutes trying to find something to watch) thinking about the week ahead and usually wishing I could include more content in each issue of The Bulletin, however, stay tuned! There will be some new developments over the coming months on the website.
So there we have it. The weekday and weekend schedule. It certainly hasn’t been easy for any of us over the past eleven months in many areas, including career, families and health, however, sometimes resilience kicks in and it forces you to just do those things you keep putting off. For some, it could be learning to play an instrument or taking up a sport. For me, it was writing and be able to find the time and focus to continually enjoy writing and publishing each edition of this weekly publication.
Best wishes and thanks as always
C
Editors comment:
“Notes” is separate from The Bulletin on Sunday, so if you only wish to receive the Sunday edition, unsubscribing from this Wednesday email will not unsubscribe you from the Sunday edition (and vice versa) Please contact me if you need to manage your subscription.