Day 13, 14, 15 & 16, 2024: Happy 4th of July (yesterday)

 I meant to write a post yesterday since it was the 4th of July. 

I either got busy or a little too relaxed or both. Either way, the post never got written.

Not that I had anything to say about the 4th of July.

It is a holiday and I like taking holidays easier than other days. Always have. I am not a big decorator or into big celebrations. I am into spending as much time as I can with my family. Hopefully, I did something right as a parent since my children want to do stuff with me (and my husband, their dad),

I noticed that last week I was super productive. This week, not so much. 

I didn't shower every day.

In fact yesterday I admitted out loud that getting into the shower is hard, but once I am there I love it. 

That got me thinking, "What can I do to ensure that I am more productive?" Not that productivity is a good measure for no longer being depressed. Being productive does mean things, like cleaning, don't pile up.

I have a love-hate relationship with cleaning. 

But I digress.

Being productive and taking on the day starts before taking a shower. At least for me, it does.

It starts with when and how I wake up.

Since my children were little I have gotten up an hour before they did. This hour gave me time to fully wake up and start my day without needing to be "on" immediately. I am not a morning person and need time to myself when I first wake up. Also, my children being greeted by a grumpy mom every morning was a bad idea.

To wake up an hour earlier required an alarm. 

Left to my own devices I will sleep until either the sunshine is too bright in my room or my bladder is too full. 

I do not use a snooze button. 

I read a book* about trust and the importance of building trust with yourself. The example given was the alarm clock. And how every time we use the snooze button we undermine our trust with ourselves. 

Since then, I either get up with an alarm or I turn the alarm off. My brain knows the difference.

Three guesses about what I have been doing since I switched from an early morning job to a late afternoon job! Not using my alarm.

Is my brain acting like each day is relaxed or easy simply because I wake up when I want?

I have been productive this week, but I have to talk myself into it and then take a lot of breaks. "Oh, I've been working for twenty minutes? Let's take a twenty-minute break!" Yeah, I get things done, just... I could do more. And showering or getting dressed is still a struggle. I struggle to feel... feel something other than blah.

Starting tomorrow, I will go back to using my alarm and see if that makes a difference in taking showers, being a little bit more productive, and... not feeling quite so... out of it.

Thanks for reading!

*The book is The Speed of Trust by Stephen M.R. Covey. It was written for businesses to use with their employees. Maybe. Don't quote me on that. I never finished the book. But the beginning was all about building trust with yourself. Also, I have never figured out how to duplicate the alarm clock trust-building activity with other things... like eating healthier.