We’re on week five, I’m not perfect but I’m much less grumpy than I normally am this time of year. Well, I think I am, I feel more cheerful…
Spirit
I’ve signed up to Thankful in November with Krissie. The plan for December is to read Do Nothing Christmas is Coming.
Week One – The emails have been coming every day and I’ve spent 10 minutes or so thinking about them and so far it has been good for me and helped to get my head in the right place, in fact see the post this morning as an example.
Week Two – No real change here. I am practising being thankful and I think it makes me a happier person. The 10 minutes or so that I spend thinking about all the good things in my life are great for grounding me, so that when stuff does go wrong (this week it was mostly public transport related!) I can put it in the place it belongs, rather than get all ‘this is the end of the world and my life is rubbish’.
Week Three – This is really paying off, not the emails from Krissie so much as me reminding myself about my attitude. I’ve been taking some time before bed to think about the day and also just to spent some time in reflection and prayer and maybe that really what was missing for me before was that focus on God. I’m finding it easier to be cheerful (in fact I’ve been told a couple of times at work that I’m being far too cheerful). I still have my moments but they are fewer and shorter, much shorter.
Week Four – This week has been more of the same. Tomorrow I start the Do Nothing Christmas book.
Week Five – I’ve completely failed to start the book, however, the stuff I was doing in November has stuck, so it’s not too bad.
Mind
8.30pm cut of for laptop/ipad/iphone usage on school nights.
Week One – I’ve been doing this with bells on. Last week, I knew I was proper ill because I didn’t want to be anywhere near a screen, so it was accidental rather than deliberate. Yesterday, I found the 8.30pm cut off really useful, it was good to put the laptop down and go and do something else, yesterday that was tidying the kitchen, making today’s lunch and taking my makeup off. I would normally do those things before bed but at 10pm, when I should be in bed!
Week Two – I’m finding it easier to get to sleep on the nights that I enforce the cut off, so that’s a good reminder of why I need to do it but on Thursday night I failed and was watching something while knitting!
Week Three – I set an 8.30pm alarm to remind me that it’s time to switch off and that works. The cut off makes my internet time much more focused and it’s really good for me to be doing something else. Also, the less time I’m plonked on the sofa, the more I’m moving and the less cold I am!
Week Four – This has gone smoothly this week, I seem almost to naturally lose patience with screens around 8pm.
Week Five – I’ve still doing this and it’s still good!
Bed by 10pm on 30 of the 50 days. Getting up by 6.30am on workdays and 8.30am on weekends.
Week One – So I did this Sunday, Monday and Tuesday and then pretty much didn’t get out of bed until Saturday. So being in bed by 10pm not a problem, I was lights out at about 8.30pm but getting up times, that just didn’t happen at all! Sunday night I started again so I can’t tell you anything about it based on 2 mornings this week. What I have noticed is that I have the to have the wake up light set for 6am and the radio alarm set for 5.45am, to make 6.30am out of bed work. That’s ok, I’m quite keen on Farming Today.
Week Two – Now that I’m not sick, I’m finding that imposing the bedtime is harder than the forcing myself to get out of bed in the morning. I knew that Wednesday would be a late night because I was out. On Thursday, I just lost track of time, I was knitting and watching something and before I knew it, it was 10:30pm and I hadn’t taken my make-up off! However, I got up earlier than 6:30am on Thursday and Friday! We’ll see if that carries on but I’m making no promises…
Week Three – I’ve been going to bed about 9.30pm on schoolnights and I’m getting out of bed at 6am each morning. I don’t much like it, I would naturally prefer to stay up and get up later and I’m never going to be happy about getting out of a warm and cozy bed when it’s cold and dark outside but my sleeping patterns are settling down and I don’t feel so exhausted during the day. Sleep is pretty much my cure for most things (according to my mother it always was!) and I need a lot of it, so as long as I live in a world that requires me to be functional at 9am, I’m going to need to go to bed early to make sure I get enough.
Week Four – I’ve been sick with cold (yes again and yes I am mightily fed up with it) this week and as ever when I’m sick all I want to do is sleep and other than when I’m at work, funnily enough, they’re not keen on people being asleep at their desks!, I’ve been sleeping. Going to bed on time has been easy and I’ve been getting up by 6.30am every day, even though I don’t want to.
Week Five – This week has been a bit all over the place so I haven’t been as disciplined about it as I need to be. I’ve noticed that on the days I don’t do this I tend to have have a harder time getting anything done.
Body
Sit-ups/push-ups/squats 10 a day, adding one each day
Week One – Started fine, didn’t do anything Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun or Mon. Started again today with 19 of each. Not pleasant but done.
Week Two – I’ve swapped my time for doing this, at the weekend it happens in the morning, during the week in the evening. As it takes more time to do as I add to the total, I just don’t have time on weekday mornings. I don’t really feel any stronger for doing it but I’m hoping that it will form a good base to push off from after Christmas!
Week Three – Fail, fail, big fat fail. I did Sunday but that’s all I did! Need to find the wagon that is far off into the distance and get back on it.
Week Four – Sick, let’s just skip this
Week Five – No, I’m rubbish at making this happen, i know it and honestly, I’m not going to fix it before Christmas..
Stretches
Week One – Missed Wed, Thurs, Fri completely but started again on Sat, needed to as 3 days pretty much lying down, does nothing for your mobility!
Week Two – I get one set in everyday, before I go to bed, I really need to work on being consistent with the second set. Not sure how to make that happen right how, may it’s something I’ll start to do after I do the squats etc.
Week Three – I’m still getting the one set in before I go to bed. However, the second set seems to have gone the way of the exercising. I need to work on this next week.
Week Four – Yes, I’ve started to get two sets in. I know it’s good for my knees and the cold has been a huge motivator because when it’s cold, I start to creak. Literally (in the old fashioned sense of the word!)
Week Five – Yes, as it gets colder, my knees are hurting more so it’s a great reminder!
Nic Dempsey 