Friday, February 05, 2010

The Quest for more energy

So it is February and in January I was supposed to set resolutions revolving around getting more energy and track my progress...seeing as it is February 5th and I am now setting the resolutions...I guess we don't have to belabor the obvious point that I haven't done so well at keeping them!

And my excuse...drum roll please...I don't have enough freaking energy!!

Though I have been ruminating on the topic and percolating on it since I bought the Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin.  My starting off points were 1) go to sleep earlier (by 10:30 if not working), 2) exercise at least 3 times a week, 3) get rid of the clutter and mess, 4) fake it till you make it philosophy

So #1 I am meeting with limited success.  Though when I go to bed before 10 pm and am not woken up by Connor to either find his binky or change his wet sheets (yes he is three and still sleeps with a binky, definitely don't have the energy to tackle that right now!)  I definitely am happier the next day and more energetic.  The day may not be "happy" but I don't feel like I am going to pass out from exhaustion at 10 am and 3 pm.  But it is really hard to stick to.  I feel like I am being robbed of my me time if I go to bed before 10...yet I rarely do much other than watch tv, search the internet or pretend I am studying after 10.  Sometimes doing the obviously best thing is obnoxiously hard to do.

#2 much more limited success, I think I have averaged once a week since January 1st...scary but true.  I know that I am more energetic, sane and happy when I exercise at least 3 times a week if not 4 or 5...but another priority always inserts itself...definitely going to try harder this coming month.

#3  I am ridiculous in this area.  I really did make some great progress in this area over winter break from school.  And it did make me happier and frees up some energy for me, the mess and disorganization sucks my energy it really does.  My bedroom still needs closets and bureaus purged of clothes.  But it is no longer the dumping ground for every piece of crap upstairs that doesn't have a home.  And you can see my closet floor and the shelf in the upper closet is organized with even some spare space.  The kids area in the basement was and i stress was organized...not so much now.  And oh the garage, the embarassment of my garage...which wouldn't be so bad except you have to walk through it to get to our living area in the basement!  The Christmas stuff is there right in my face every day waiting to go into the attic.  I have a good rationalization for that, it is a waste to pack it up there until the outdoor lights are with it.  That worked when we had a foot of snow outside, that has been gone for quite a while now, I am holding onto a whiny tenuous BS excuse that doesn't even fool me that it is cold outside :-)

4)  Doing much better with this, convincing myself that playing catch with the kids is more energizing than laying on the couch, because really it is.  What has 10 minutes on the couch ever done for me??  Why do I continue to try to convince myself that somehow if I just try to vegitate there for 10 minutes it will make me somehow ready to go tackle whatever from the pile of things I choose to tackle more?
But playing with my kids for 10 or 15 minutes being silly and crazy does in fact energize me, despite often not wanting to do it in the slightest.

So there you go, I am off to go vegitate on the couch for 10 minutes while determining it is too cold to go take the lights off the bushes out front...

Kat