Trying To Beak Out Of The Beginning Of A Rut...

[SiouzQ.]

Yawn...that's all I seem to do these days anymore. Wake up around 4:45am and hit the ground running, at work by 5:30am. The shift goes rather quickly, but takes a lot out of me. I'm home by 2:00 or 2:30pm, but I am just so tired these days. After I chill for a bit at home, all I do anymore is run a few errands, make my jewelry, go sell my plasma for some extra $, try to get enough guitar time in, try to get some exercise...I aim to get to at least one open mic per week just to be sociable,but I end up going home rather early because I've been up since 4:45am. The musician life I lead no more.

It's hard not to really isolate big time, especially for a loner like me with a schedule like mine. It's very easy to make excuses to not go out and be amongst people; I have to go to bed around 9:30 most nights, whereas that might have been around the time I would head out for an open mic and hang around the bar!

I accept that my lifestyle these days is FAR different than it used to be, albeit much, much healthier; however, I am realizing that it is not very balanced at all, way tipped in the other direction. So I am trying to commit myself to do a few more things outside the house and just push through some of the fatigue. Yesterday I went to a free lecture up on campus, tonight I will go to see my new house mate's band play downtown (an early show). I don't have to work tomorrow so I made plans (what, me makes plans with a person? Almost unheard of!) with good female friend that I would really like to catch up with.

I am FOREVER trying to find balance in my life! Yes, and I am a Libra.....

[Tussiemussies]

At least you can see yourself very clearly to know what is happening in your life, comparing it to the past and knowing what to do about it. Making plans to see a friend is great and it must have felt good to go see the band!

[ApatheticNoMore]

It sounds like you do an IMMENSE amount for anyone working full time. Let's see: work full time, make jewelry, sell plasma, practice guitar, get exercise (I don't know if this is a walk around the block or an hour at the gym but whatever), going to an open mic a week. That sounds exhausting!

So I'm not going to crack the whip: do more, do more! But you might want to *prioritize* to conserve the energy you do have. Maybe you sacrifice some jewelry making for a little more socializing. Maybe you sacrifice exercise some days for a nap instead (a little more flabby and much better rested may be worth it). Or if on real reflection the way you're are spending your time is already optimal for you then don't. I realize there is a lot of idealizing about we should all exercise an hour a day, and have a rich social life, and prepare all our food from scratch, and have alternative sources of income, and keep our dwellings like martha stewart, and and blah blah blah, but it's often scarcely possible. Simplify! :)

[lhamo]

Hey, SQ:

I also have a very early start to my day -- typically up between 4:00-4:30 so that I can leave for the bus at around 5:30 to start work at 7:00 (I usually get to the office around 6:45 but take a few minutes to eat my breakfast before starting work). There are many days where I am crawling off to bed by 8:30 as a result, but here are some things that help me generally.

1) Be sure that when you do sleep you get as good a sleep as possible. For me, this typically means I cannot drink ANYTHING with caffeine in it after lunch. When I do "treat" myself occasionally and have an afternoon coffee or a coke zero, I have an awful sleep that night. And then I am never able to make up the sleep debt for the rest of the week.

2) Try to get at least some physical exercise every day. I typically exercise after work (I get home around 4:00-4:30 so if I am disciplined about it I can fit in a workout before dinner).

3) Try not to eat too heavy a dinner and resist carb cravings in the evening as much as possible. This is really hard for me, but I find drinking a glass of water first when I think I am hungry helps.

4) I take a daily multivitamin supplement just before bed (upsets my stomach if I take it in the morning) and I have recently also started taking 5HTP, which I find helps me sleep better (it boosts serotonin). Not sure how it would interact with your meds so you might want to talk to a doctor before you try it. I'm trying to switch over to taking it in the morning as it is supposed to help regulate appetite as well, but so far that has been hard to remember to do consistently. I do really notice myself starting to get "out of whack" when I don't take the vitamins. I take GNCs Women's Ultramega Active which has the combination recommended in "The Body Blues" that is supposed to help with mood/depression issues.

One thing I wonder -- maybe the plasma selling is something you should taper off with or get rid of? I have a tendency toward low blood sugar/low blood pressure and anemia, and just the thought of giving up plasma makes me tired.

Could you experiment with a short nap in the afternoon on the nights you'd like to go out? I'd limit it to no more than an hour, as more than that might mess with your sleep. My daughter woke me up at 6 this morning after a comparatively late night up (slept at around 11:30 -- had a cup of tea around 4:00pm and did two hours of cleaning/organization in the evening that kept me a awake) and I just had a nap. Feel awesome now and will probably make it to at least 10:00 tonight.

lhamo

[creaker]

I am FOREVER trying to find balance in my life! Yes, and I am a Libra.....

That's what life is - even just standing is an exercise of continually trying to find balance.

In the 80's, Japanese businesses adopted a concept of "continuous improvement" (kaizen) - I think it's a good one to apply to life. But it puts you in a position of "forever trying". The trick is figuring which times you should try harder and which times you shouldn't try so hard - and that's where balance comes in.

[SiouzQ.]

Achieving balance in one's life is a matter of realigning priorities, which is a daily task for me. My entire life has been a battle against always seeing things in stark black and white terms. I am reminded of the idea mindfullness lately; I have not been living in-the-moment very much at all. I had jumped onto this idea of making as much extra cash as I can because I want to get out of debt quickly and rebuild my savings, hence the new house mate, the plasma selling thing, the jewelry business, the gigs.... I must decide what I can let go of for a little while; even letting go of the plasma selling because my iron and protein levels are low (I am also smack-dab in the middle of mischievious hormonal shifts (ie, menopause).

Don't get me wrong, I am actually pretty happy with the way my life is/has been lately - I quit smoking six months ago, I have a stable albeit strenuous job, I am making art, and selling jewelry - I am finally doing everything I dreamed of all those years I was a struggling single parent. I just wish there were more hours in the day and that I had more energy (and less body pain) to do everything I want to do because I feel so mentally alive and engaged and want to do SO MANY different things!

#1 priority is that I am very mindful and protective about my sleep and I am pretty good about my diet, though I have gotten a little off track with portion control and too much snacking at work. I try to get a 30 minute walk in everyday and floor stretching exercises as well, but after running around 8 hours at work my body is very physically tired and sore. Hopefully, the cortisone injections I am getting in my knees on Tuesday will alleviate the terrible knee pain that I've had for the past six months.

Everything else I do in my life has to fit around my top priorities and I need to learn to not be so hard on myself when I just don't have the physical or mental energy to accomplish much. Right now I am so enjoying easing into the day (I have all day off), sleeping in until 7am (!), drinking coffee, playing my guitar, listening to NPR, playing on my new computer....

[ApatheticNoMore]

I try to get a 30 minute walk in everyday and floor stretching exercises as well, but after running around 8 hours at work my body is very physically tired and sore.

maybe you don't need it. Maybe the stretching helps you with the muscle soreness but maybe you don't need a 30min walk after being active all day with your job. A lot of that advice about getting 30 minutes of exercise in is for people who have sedentary jobs - that just sit around all day - for whom the exercise is about the only moving they do. A full days work at non-sedentary labor is probably far more than most people with sedentary jobs get even if they hit the gym. Of course it's up to you, if you need the exercise to feel healthy physically or mentally (i.e. it helps you sleep, it burns off tension etc.) then do it, also if you love walking then walk, but not just because someone somewhere says people should.


Right now I am so enjoying easing into the day (I have all day off), sleeping in until 7am (!), drinking coffee, playing my guitar, listening to NPR, playing on my new computer....

sounds great

[Tammy]

I wore my husband's step counter a few times at work. I'm a nurse. Found out that I walk 1-3 miles at work daily.

[mtnlaurel]

congrats on the 6 months smoke free ... that's no small feat!!!

[pinkytoe]

I quit smoking six months ago
Wonderful news!

[Gardenarian]

If you're happy, it sounds like a nice rut. I would definitely quit the plasma gig, esp. as you are feeling fatigued. I am a night owl and could not adjust to getting up that early - but it is nice to see the sunrise.
Even though I'm a librarian, I look forward to going to our public library a couple times a week. I usually run into people I know, find some new books or magazines. It's an easy low-stress, no cost thing that connects me to the community a bit.