Does Step #3 Drive You Crazy?

Just wondering.

Because there are moments in my day when I feel like I am a robot getting things done that are so mundane.

That's step 3.

Here's a recap of the steps so far. (I introduced them in this prior post.)

1. Make a commitment to the Live-Like-Vacation  Lifestyle
2. Sleep at the same time every night
3. Systematize your daily activities/chores so they are out of the way, (then you will have more room for the bigger activities)

Here's #4 and #5 just FYI:
4. Knock out of your life the things that are unproductive
5. Make your work joyful for yourself and others

And then, coming soon, as I work through my LLV progress, I will add in steps that address financial wellness.

Can Step #3 be a real drain?
I believe the answer is "yes."  This is something we have to make peace with.
I can wake up and stroll into the kitchen and say to myself, here I am again making coffee, making breakfast, feeding the cats...

Day in an day out these chores are here waiting to get done.  Paying the bills, taking out the trash, laundry, etc.  What is there to feel good about?  It's drudgery.

But if you can systematize it.....Oh, boy.  That's another chore.

Well, if I go about it willy-nilly, I forget something like making son's lunch.  Then I have to scramble to get that done before he's late for school.  So, a system will prevent scrambling.

I do not like scrambling.  This is what makes me so grumpy in the first place wondering when I can have my next vacation.

Scrambling is what makes my practice members call me up in a panic because they need to get adjusted as soon as they can because all their stress sneaked up on them.

I also tend to scramble when I am at work.  I have to type up a notice for someone.  I have to get a claim ready to mail.  I have to be productive in between appointments before it's time to pick up son from school.  I have to set aside time to eat lunch before my brain crashes next to my feet.

I have to systematize my work day so I can be more attentive to my practice members when they need me the most.

You, whoever you are, need to systematize your work day so you can be your best for your customers, clients, students, and co-workers.  We deserve it from each other.

So, the daily chores go smoothly and give you more time for the important things, or we can just feel as if we are drowning in the annoyance of chores.

I guess we can look back at #1.  The commitment makes a difference in our mind-set.  We know there is a greater reward when the small details are worked out.

And then I will throw in #2.  An authentically restful sleep routine makes us much more efficient, and we can feel as if this part of our day is effortless and a warm up for the rest.

Get warmed up for the rest of the day.

How do you use Step #3 to your advantage.  Please share in the comments section.

Also, in a future post I will discuss the second part of step #3.  You see that part that is written in parentheses.  What are the bigger activities of the LLV lifestyle?

Good question......  See you soon.  

You Do Not Have to Feel Ruffled All Day Long

Have you ever had that ruffled feeling?  You could feel overwhelmed, rushed, and easily agitated.  You can feel like you are unproductive, spinning your wheels and putting out fires.

It's a long day when you feel that way.

 photo courtesy of Redwall Cookbook

What makes it worse is the desire to find comfort in food.  Eating on the run is an example.  Who doesn't dash over to the snack machine in search of a tasty pleasure to help you feel better about the day? The sad part is that you don't feel better, you feel worse.  This just spirals in a negative manner.

Just getting through the day seems to be a major goal with mugs and mugs of hot coffee or endless caffeinated soft drinks.  And the carby comfort foods...Oh boy.

I noticed with an authentically restful sleeping routine, (ARSR) I don't have food cravings.  Actually the midday hunger is easy to appease and then I go right back to my work.

This is just one of the hidden rollover benefits of good sleep.

The Domino Effect begins with good sleep!

Keep the Vacation-Feel......

I Am Not Obsessed with Sleep

I am not obsessed with sleep, but  these five posts have emphasized it.  And I've been getting some fun results with a good night's sleep that starts by going to bed at 9 PM every night.

We know America is sleep deprived.  All you have to do is google the statistics and health problems created by sleep deprivation.

I really fooled myself into thinking my variable bedtimes were fine even though I was in bed some nights at 9:30, or 10:00 or usually 10:45.  Since I woke up without an alarm clock, I convinced myself I was getting enough sleep.

This was an easy experiment and I feel a difference.

This nice surprise started during my vacation and I had no nagging issues to drag out my bedtime or keep me awake at night.  I will continue with my own self study and share my findings because now I have to deal with the competition between my desire for an authentically restful sleeping routine and the stressful activities that will be crammed into my life.

I will add that good sleep makes my evening chores get done quickly without some type of griping attitude muttered under my breath.  I am not tired even though I am turning in thirty minutes from now.

But I am not obsessed with sleep.  I am naturally stumbling into the other
issues that interfere with my ability to Live Like Vacation so they will be addressed next.

Diet will be another topic and I've given some sneak previews on that.
Here are more:
-Reducing time on errands through better planning
-The difference between being in control and being organized
-Financial planning
-Overbooking your day
-Responding to mishaps
-The causes and inefficiency of worrying
-The good bad and ugly about social media
-Truly being open to the saying: I had no idea what I was missing
-And more ...

Right now my son immediately responded when I said, "Bath time."
He also likes our new early bed time routine.  It used to be a chore getting him to bed.  Boy, it sounds like our night routine was chaos.  And it was.  When you come home from work exhausted your brain functions differently.  How normal is it to come home from work exhausted?
Let's delve into that next time.

Keep the Vacation-Feel !!

Good Morning Day #3

Today is my busy day.  I have to head over to the next town at 8:30, so as soon as I drop off hubby and son to their work and school, I am on the road.

Waking up early was so easy.  But I know it's not easy when your sleep schedule is a mess.  Sometimes we have rotten sleep schedules that appear to be normal.  I thought I had a fairly decent sleep schedule.

My recent state of calmness these last two days pretty much proves I was not doing well in the sleep department.  And when we say we'll catch up later, or one late night during the week isn't so bad -- it really is bad.
----------------------Later in the day entry:
The rest of my day did not go as planned.  I was stuck in the sleety, snowy driveway.  It took a while to get out.  Thanks to some friendly neighbors, they pushed my car out.  I was stuck at the end of the driveway because I stopped.  People up north know that stopping is a risk.  I saw a neighbor leaving his driveway, so I stopped and it turns out if I just rammed it out onto the street I would have been fine.  But when it comes to high snow banks blocking your view, you can never be too careful.  This time it got me stuck.

I cancelled my evening appointments and I was okay with that.  I usually don't like changing other people's plans and I feel awful about it, but the weather was bad.

Now, my calmness about the situation.... was that because I had an authentic good night's sleep?  It can be up to debate but I'll say yes.
SLEEP MATTERS!

Now, you may think I am a horrible, out of control, witch.  I keep mentioning how calm I feel.  It's not that I was always over the top anxious.  I just don't know what other word besides "calm" to use to describe my journey.

The "vacation feel" is certainly nice, comfortable, relaxing.  This is the feeling I want to keep in my back to non-vacation life.  It feels very calm.

I kept my breakfast ritual simple again.  Doing so helps me feel less uptight about squeezing in a workout.  I truly loved my work out days.  I have been very lazy and in a rut for at least 1 1/2 years, so I miss it.  I'll go into more detail with that as well in future blog posts.

I will also talk more about my Paleo cereal.  It's a new favorite.

The clock says 8:56 PM. Time to turn in.