Yesterday, most North Americans set their clocks forward an hour as part of Daylight Saving Time (DST). We, in Arizona, are one of two states that never change our clocks. Thus, half the year, we are on Mountain Time, and the other half, we are on Pacific Time.

Those of you who lost an hour yesterday either went to church an hour early or showed up bleary-eyed for losing that extra hour of sleep.

The history of daylight saving time is quite fascinating. The best book on the topic is Seize the Daylight by David Prerau. Many years ago, I met a lady who lived in a county outside Indianapolis that did not follow DST either. (That has since changed.) Her husband worked in another county 20 minutes away which did follow DST. This meant he would gain and lose an hour each morning and evening during his commute. She had one child in a school in her own county and another in the neighboring one. She wore two watches on her wrist!

Of course, many states are asking why the country must still follow federal law and are trying to pass laws to join the smart people in Arizona (where I live) and Hawaii (where I went to high school) who are just fine with the amount of sun we have all year round. (By the way, it’s a myth that DST was instituted to help farmers.)

This all got me thinking about time and the seeming lack of it.

For most writers, it is hard to find the rhythm in life to free up the concentrated time necessary to write quality work. I know one author who got up at 5 a.m. every morning and wrote until 7 a.m. when the rest of the house woke up for school and the rest of the day. He completed more than a dozen nonfiction books this way.

A novelist I know set aside three Saturday mornings a month for writing time. He started early, like a workday, and wrote until 1 p.m. By then, his teenagers had decided it was time to get up, and he was able to be “dad” the rest of the day. He wrote a half dozen novels this way.

My question for readers is this, if you are willing to share: What do you do to schedule the amount of time needed to pursue your writing? Please comment below with tips and tricks that you use. I ran a version of this post a few years ago, and the comment section generated some delightful responses. Be sure to read them and add your own!

Remember that everyone is at a different stage of life. Some have toddlers who only rest briefly each day. Others have regular jobs that demand all their energy. Others are retired or have an empty nest and have extra time on their hands. No matter the circumstances, the discipline to write must find its way onto the mental calendar.

Meanwhile, enjoy some trivia about Daylight Saving Time:

• It is not plural as in Daylight Saving(s) Time. It is singular, Daylight Saving Time.
• In Arizona the Navajo Reservation observes Daylight Saving Time; the Hopi Reservation does not. However, the Hopi Reservation is completely inside the boundaries of the Navajo Reservation, which stretches across three states (see this map). Thus, if you drive across the northern section of Arizona to New Mexico, your clock will change four times!
• More than 70 countries observe DTS. (NATO Europe does; Russia does not.) Follow this link to a world map that shows in blue all the countries that observe it.
• China may geographically cover five time zones, but it only recognizes one: Beijing Time. Ostensibly, it is to promote national unity. Imagine being in West China where the sun might not officially set until midnight.
• The U.S. first adopted “Fast Time” in Spring 1918 as part of the World War I effort. Seven months later they officially stopped observing DST, but some parts of the country continued to observe it.
• Your pets do not appreciate being fed an hour later; they notice these things. I think Fluffy is in the corner sharpening her claws.