Whisper takes baby steps

[Whisper]

So, near the end of my last challenge I asked myself: "which of the things that I'm sucking at doing right now would have the biggest improvement if I started sucking slightly less at it, and switch my narrow focus over to that, and keep trying to do at least something to make things better."  and the answer I found was " I should focus (once again, because I've only done most of my challenges on it) on getting enough sleep. I need more than I have been getting, and I could always use higher quality sleep."

 

Work is still crazy. We're being told to expect 50-60 hour weeks for the next 3 months. They're hoping to only work us 40 hours the week before the 4th, but I'm not going to hold my breath for that. Church is also taking up about 8 hours a week between services and rehearsals, and a few hours for physical therapy... There isn't a lot of time left, and there is even less energy left, but if I stop working on self improvement, everything is going to backslide AGAIN, and I would rather not do that. 

 

So, this challenge, I'm going to focus not on doing anything big at all, but on consistently doing small things to make things better. I've had as the quote in my signature "Put together enough small wins over a long enough period of time, and you’ll find yourself in high level gear fighting dragons before you know it."  I'm really going to work on embracing that this challenge, with an eye towards helping improve my sleep.

 

So, part 1, improve "sleep hygiene". For most of my life, my bed has been the only space I've had to myself, and thus became a comfortable catch-all space, but this isn't good for sleep quality or duration, as I tend to do a bunch of not sleeping stuff there, and then not transition into sleeping. Also, when I'm tired, I tend to want to lay down and do stuff, like mess around on my laptop, rather than doing it sitting up. So, I'm working on fixing that habit. Laptop stays out of bedroom. Phone (with it's alarms) get's charged next to bed, but isn't used in bed. I am going to allow myself to read in bed for now, but that'll probably get assessed later. Yesterday I really struggled with wanting to take the laptop to bed near bedtime to help "relax" more before sleep, and it was a hard to convince myself to finish what i wanted to do on it in the living room chair because I kept thinking how much more comfortable I'd be in bed.

 

So part 2, make my spaces more inviting. This has three areas, my bed, my bedroom, and my living room. All need to be comfortable and inviting for the activities that take place there. If the living room becomes more comfortable, it should be easier to do awake stuff there rather than defaulting back to bed. If the bed is comfortable, I'll be able to sleep better. So, baby steps, do something small to make these spaces better every day.

 

I've actually been working on this for a while now. I needed to do something to fix my box spring, and finally got that done and the bed is more comfortable. I've been working on doing a little bit to clean and sort every day, and the little bits are starting to add up in noticable ways. There is still a lot to do, but if I keep doing a little bit everyday, I'll be in much better shape overall than my normal mode of major clean followed by long back slide. 

 

As much as I still like the idea of working on Intuitive Eating and getting in better physical shape, knowing my time and energy availability, I feel like this is my best shot at real progress this challenge, so those are sticking around on the back burner.

[Whisper]

Signature updated to this challenge so @Rookie doesn't beat me up...

[Whisper]

Baby steps for Sunday June 21:

 

Crushed a bunch of cardboard that had been crowding up my room, loaded into car, and dropped off at the paper recycling thing at church.

Washed clothes, got everything (washed today) hung/folded and put away. Still have a basket of "I'll fold this later" that has been waiting for a LONG time.

 

Plan for Monday, June 22:

Order, pick-up and load meds into pill holder (ordered part done)

Set up new CPAP again.

 

The new CPAP has been a repeated pain in my side since I got the thing at the start of this year. Twice now the water chamber of the humidifier has started leaking, forcing me to switch back to my old unit until the replacement chamber arrives. New chamber got here last week but I haven't gotten around to cleaning everything a putting it back together.

[Honeybee]

Is it just me or is getting recycling/cardboard/etc out of the house such a major relief? It's one of my favorite things when cleaning.

 

I really like your goals. I've been guilty of working from home out of my bed and it is definitely having a negative impact on my sleep and my work time/personal time boundaries in general. 

[Whisper]

1 hour ago, Honeybee said:

Is it just me or is getting recycling/cardboard/etc out of the house such a major relief? It's one of my favorite things when cleaning.

I looked at the space where it was crowding up and making it hard to get into my closet, and now it is empty and I feel like I can breath more easily. Got a bunch of other stuff to take care of still, cans and bottles. Don't know what it is about my mind that doesn't just take care of it as I go so it never turns into a big task, but that is the long term goal.

 

[Tateman]

1 hour ago, Whisper said:

Baby steps for Sunday June 21:

 

Crushed a bunch of cardboard that had been crowding up my room, loaded into car, and dropped off at the paper recycling thing at church.

Washed clothes, got everything (washed today) hung/folded and put away. Still have a basket of "I'll fold this later" that has been waiting for a LONG time.

 

Plan for Monday, June 22:

Order, pick-up and load meds into pill holder (ordered part done)

Set up new CPAP again.

 

The new CPAP has been a repeated pain in my side since I got the thing at the start of this year. Twice now the water chamber of the humidifier has started leaking, forcing me to switch back to my old unit until the replacement chamber arrives. New chamber got here last week but I haven't gotten around to cleaning everything a putting it back together.

Oh that really sucks with the CPAP. I have been pretty lucky with mine so far. The biggest headache I have with mine is the elastic bands on the mask itself. I've replaced it twice already, and the bands just stretch out way too fast.

[Rookie]

4 hours ago, Whisper said:

Signature updated to this challenge so @Rookie doesn't beat me up...

You are learning!

 

I approve of these challenge goals! This reminds me I need to tidy up my side of the bedroom a bit more so I feel more comfortable as well. 

[Jupiter]

9 hours ago, Whisper said:

 

Work is still crazy. We're being told to expect 50-60 hour weeks for the next 3 months. They're hoping to only work us 40 hours the week before the 4th, but I'm not going to hold my breath for that. Church is also taking up about 8 hours a week between services and rehearsals, and a few hours for physical therapy... There isn't a lot of time left, and there is even less energy left, but if I stop working on self improvement, everything is going to backslide AGAIN, and I would rather not do that.

 

I totally understand this. Hang in there, you got this. 

[Whisper]

22 hours ago, Whisper said:

Plan for Monday, June 22:

Order, pick-up and load meds into pill holder (ordered part done)

Set up new CPAP again.

 

Ok, first set was accomplished with no issues. Pills are sorted for the next week.

 

Also stopped off at a grocery store to get breakfasts / lunches for the week, and got my yogurts all assembled. 

 

CPAP did not go as smoothly. Got everything cleaned, but when I went to put it all together so I could go to sleep, I could not find the adapter from the hose to the mask. I wracked my brain trying to remember where I had put it, but all I could remember was saying to myself as I took apart the old unit "I'm going to need this for the new unit". And then, nothing. I searched and searched and searched for that damn thing, and finally found it looking like I had, for some unknowable reason, flung it into the corner of my closet. What the hell was my brain doing?!

 

Anyway, was all pissed off at my stupid brain, and had slipped through the "I'm tired and should go to sleep" phase, and into the "I'm really tired and I should eat" phase, so instead of going to sleep at a good time, I read in bed and ate an entire thing of Triscuits and some fruit snacks, and finally got to sleep around 11. 

 

 

Plan for Tuesday, June 23

Get more CBD oil on the way home.

Get more Monster and Fizzy water (forgot them while I was at store 🙄)

Crush cans and plastic bottles and bag to go out to recycling in the morning. (I have this weird phobia of being seen taking out trash and recycling, so they get smuggled in the dark, this is part of why they tend to build up downstairs. I'm really dumb sometimes.)

 

[RedStone]

On 6/22/2020 at 8:59 AM, Whisper said:

consistently doing small things to make things better

 

Big big fan, and they're already adding up! Hope the CPAP comes together soon 

[Rookie]

I am glad you found it in the end! And hey you went to bed by 11pm! Thats still something. Before you would be awake until 1am or something. 

[fleaball]

I’m late but I’m here! And you made me want fruit snacks. 

[Whisper]

A wild update appears!

 

Tuesday, the needed shopping happened, but I was so spent by the time I got home that nothing else really happened. Crappy sleep that night.

 

Wednesday, I had an hour and a half of PT after work. The fact that I managed a shower after that counts as victory. Crappy sleep that night.

 

Thursday, worked, then needed to be at church around 5:30, so not much else happened. Crappy sleep that night.

 

Friday, I am fairly sure this day happened. No other information available. Crappy sleep that night.

 

Saturday, woke up feeling like total crap. I had tried to go to sleep early, but nothing went well on the sleeping front. Had this ache in the top/back of my mouth that often indicates that I'm getting sick and almost stayed home from work. Decided to go in anyway, figured they'd take my temp and decide if I should be there. Worked 6 hours, generally felt crummy, went home, felt a bit better as the day went on. Did manage to get to sleep a bit early and slept fairly well.

 

Sunday, woke up feeling overall much better. Played violin for the traditional service at church and ran video for the contemporary service. Did some grocery shopping, ran some laundry, and grilled some sausages for supper.

 

 

I've decided that the time has come to stop playing Hero Wars. I had tried backing off from it some a while ago, which helped, but I was getting more sucked into it again, and yesterday in particular, I kept feeling like I wanted to do other stuff but "needed" to take care of things in the game. I haven't done any painting in weeks, I'm not doing a lot of other stuff, because I "need" to do things for the game. I don't like the feeling, it is supposed to be fun, not another job. I was also unhappy with how much real money I was spending on a "free" game in an attempt to get ahead. $400 over the last 3 months. I can afford it, but it isn't how I want to be spending my money, and doesn't support my long term goals. So, I need to be totally done with it. Went through and quit all my guilds last night, and honestly feeling some liberation. I don't need to get on there and do stuff. 

 

I think I need to just not play any games that have social functions in them and timers in the real world; they just don't seem to go well for me.

 

 

 

Plan for today:

Work

Re-fill pill holders.

Spend some time tidying up the living room.

Decide what I want to paint next (may or may not start)

[Tateman]

My drug err game of choice has been World of Warcraft  I certainly have had similar thoughts were it felt like I needed to be logged in to do things. There still is, I just am ignoring it now. I still get in to finish a few things, then raid and do dungeons with friends. It's hard to just give it all up though.

[Whisper]

On 6/29/2020 at 1:55 PM, Tateman said:

My drug err game of choice has been World of Warcraft

I haven't played WoW in a really long time. Probably not a good idea for me to take it up again 😜

 

On 6/29/2020 at 6:48 AM, Whisper said:

Plan for today:

Work

Re-fill pill holders.

Spend some time tidying up the living room.

Decide what I want to paint next (may or may not start)

 

Worked, did pills, did some cleaning, decided that I'm going to paint wisteria blooming, but didn't start painting.

 

Woke up Tuesday feeling kind of iffy again. I'm really trying to get enough sleep, and did a decent job Monday and Tuesday night, but I feel like I'm chipping at a big sleep deficit. Hopefully with the holiday weekend I'll be able to make a good dent in it.

 

Still spending on a lot of brain power on the game I'm not playing. Mostly I'm feeling liberation and release.  Played Skyrim for a while yesterday afternoon while listening to NPR. Nice thing about games on xBox is that they don't follow me to work.

 

I've got work and PT today. Thow in a shower after that and I'll call it plenty for today.

[Whisper]

 

[Jupiter]

Nice job on the hike and the steps! Love the pictures!

[Whisper]

I feel like I'm doing fairly well with my goal of doing a little bit every day to make things better, even if I'm not doing so good at posting and following here.

 

Friday I was off work for the 4th (yay!) and decided to go out for a hike. I hadn't been hiking at all this year for a whole mess of reasons, but recently it has been a combination of the stupid game getting in the way and just not thinking of it. We'll I stopped playing that game, but still wasn't thinking of hiking. People would ask what my plan was and I would say nothing, and then it was like a lighting bolt, I could go for a hike! So I did, and it was really good. I've missed doing it. Overdid it a bit and didn't really have stamina to do anything else that day. Like, taking a shower was enough to wind me. Had thought about taking another hike Saturday, but had other stuff I needed to do.

 

Saturday, did some gardening and some cleaning around the house and a little bit of painting. Didn't take a photo because I didn't like my wisteria. I'll work at it some more, but this was just a board canvas to try and figure out how to paint the thing before doing a "real" painting. 

 

Sunday, video for the traditional service and played violin for the contemporary, followed by a quick Walmart run. Got some stuff to grill for dinner which turned out fairly well, assuming you like half raw / half burned veggies... Need to learn to grill better. But the chicken was good, and I made enough for leftovers for lunches this week.

 

Plan for today is to go for another hike after work. Aiming for much shorter, but steeper. Going to try and make it up to a waterfall. 

[Whisper]

 

Stairs, more stairs. Waterfall!

[Rookie]

Yay hiking! We went on a small hike when we were camping  It was fun. 

 

https://sleepyti.me/ Someone shared this in Tobbes thread and you might find it interesting. Its a calculator that takes your wake up time and tells you when you should go to bed to get a full sleep cycle. 

 

Good job on cutting off that one game. My rule of thumb is I do not spend real life money on games. (I can buy the game initially, but no other money goes in). Its so easy to get sucked in and be like "Oh just $5 here .. its no biggy..." I used to do google surveys which got me google play credits / "money" and I would spend that on apps. I am not sure if thats still a thing.

[Whisper]

I think I need new violin strings. It has been at least two years, and I am less and less happy with how my violin sounds, but I have no idea what I should get.

 

Worked 62 hours last week. Will probably work 50 hours this week. More than enough overtime to afford a set, but much less inclination to go into a music store.

[Jupiter]

1 hour ago, Whisper said:

I think I need new violin strings. It has been at least two years, and I am less and less happy with how my violin sounds, but I have no idea what I should get.

 

Worked 62 hours last week. Will probably work 50 hours this week. More than enough overtime to afford a set, but much less inclination to go into a music store.

 

Yikes, that's a lot of hours. Hope you are able to get some rest this week. 

[Whisper]

On 7/14/2020 at 7:46 PM, Jupiter said:

 

Yikes, that's a lot of hours. Hope you are able to get some rest this week. 

I should get Saturday off this week. Debating between going for a hike and having a truly rare day where I don't step foot outside of my home.

[Whisper]

Keeping up with doing a bit every day, even if work does have me worn down. I even went out and bought new violin strings on Thursday. Talked to the guy in the shop and with the pickup on my violin, he recommended some particular strings, so got those. Waited until Sunday afternoon to re-string it, so that they'll hopefully be broken in before I play with other people again.

 

Continuing making progress on sorting stuff. Slow, but consistent.