We are well into fall here in Vermont. The foliage is past peak and we’ve had our first hard frosts. The garden is all cleaned out and it’s time to get the snow tires on the cars, the firewood stacked and ready, the storm windows on. And for me, it’s time to hunker down and really get to work.

I think we definitely all have times of day when we’re most productive (for me it’s mornings and early in the day – I’m useless at any creative thinking by dinnertime), but lately I’ve been thinking about seasonal productivity. Winter is my most productive writing time. Despite living in Vermont, I’m not a big fan of the cold and snow -- I tend to hunker down inside with coffee by the woodstove and write. I don’t have all the distractions I have when it’s nice out – I’m not tempted to go camping, kayaking, work in the garden, do big outdoor projects, or go for long wanders in the woods. I stay inside and work like crazy. I’m writing at other times of the year, too, but I tend to get the most done during the winter – I work longer hours and it’s easier for me to get deeper into the work – I have more days where I’m truly in the flow. In the late spring and summer, I give myself permission to not get as much done – to spend more time with my family and friends, to go adventuring – because I know that when the cold weather sets in, I’m going to hunker down and kick butt.