Stealthstitcher Struggles

[stealthstitcher]

Oh gosh.

This summer.

To make a long and not-actually-tragic story short, I worked two full time jobs and one part time job this summer. My average work week was 90 hours; some weeks were more. I seriously considered faking my own death. Under those circumstances, some things had to go. The things that went, in the order that they vanished:

Gardening

NF challenges

Studying, reading, writing

Any exercise at all aside from walking to and from the car

Carefully planning and prepping meals so I'd have reasonably healthy things to eat

Mowing the yard

Cleaning the house

Cooking anything at all, ever

Showering

Sleeping

 

Positives that came out of this summer: I have enough money to replace my sad and holey sub-floor, and I know my limits. I cannot function in a healthy way while working that much. I will never ever accept that many jobs at one time again. The floor can just fall in.

 

So this is going to be a super simple challenge. I wasn't going to do one at all, but I've got to start getting my feet back under me. I'm going to build my challenge one week at a time and try to get some sturdy foundations under me again.

 

This week:

Eat vegetables with two meals a day

Sleep eight hours a night (go to bed by 10:30)

Move 10 minutes of focused exercise/movement a day

 

 

 

 

 

[Teros]

Slow and steady wins the race. How does someone do 90 hours?  I mean, when factoring travel time and stuff and logistics.

 

[stealthstitcher]

2 hours ago, Teros said:

How does someone do 90 hours?  I mean, when factoring travel time and stuff and logistics.

 

One does not get enough sleep. I had one week where all three jobs overlapped and I was getting 5 hours of sleep out of 72 ... until I got sent home from work for general incoherence and falling asleep at the sewing machine. Note to the world: sometimes it is not only okay to say no, it is the right thing to do. 

Also, I totally read that as "I mean, when factoring time travel" and thought, yeah, that would have helped. 

[stealthstitcher]

Okay, yesterday I mostly very nearly hit my goals. Veggies x 2, check. Exercise: half hour of walking the dog, check. Sleep ... okay, I got eight hours, but I went to bed half an hour late and overslept half an hour this morning. 

Want to check in with other people's challenges, but that will have to wait for the evening.

[stealthstitcher]

All goals checked yesterday - I'm counting 40 minutes of push mowing a jungle as exercise. I seriously don't think I'd mowed the back yard since June ...

I feel like I should be caught up on rest by now, but I'm still so tired. When I get home from work, all I want to do is sit there and do nothing until it's time for bed. Then I sleep for eight hours and my alarm wakes me up and it's a struggle to get out of bed. Tired of being tired.

[Sylvaa]

I am so glad you are back!

 

I am also glad that your crazy schedule appears to be done with!

[stealthstitcher]

Well, I thought my crazy schedule was done with ...

As the title says, this is probably going to be a struggly kind of challenge as I attempt to regain some semblance of sanity, and I may not be on here too much this time around. I was doing fine until my parents decided to pop up for a visit. While lovely to see them, it threw off all my plans and schedules and whatnot. I really do not handle wrenches in the works very well.

But anyway, back to this week.

Challenge for this week is the same. 

Monday - Veg with two meals, check. Exercise, check. Sleep ... eh ... got 8 hours, but I can't seem to push bedtime back half an hour to 10:30 so I can get up at 6:30, which is when I need to get up in order to not rush in the morning. And rushing in the morning does not start the day off well.

[stealthstitcher]

Tuesday, not my best day.

Veg with two meals - nope. Went to a friend's house for supper and no vegetables were served. If I'd been thinking, I'd have had something with breakfast just in case.

Exercise, nope. 

Sleep, yes on 8 hours, no on going to bed at 10:30. I can go to bed consistently at 11, but I just can't seem to bump it back that half hour, and I hate either not getting enough sleep or being rushed in the morning.

[stealthstitcher]

Wednesday:

Veg with 2 meals, yes.

Exercise, yes.

Sleep, yes 8 hours, no on bed at 10:30. I've tried to think of a way to streamline the morning so that I don't need the extra half hour, but I really do need the extra half hour. Why can't I get to bed earlier?

[stealthstitcher]

Thursday:

Yes to goals one and two. Emphatic no to goal 3. Tried to get a million things done before leaving for the weekend ... got like half of them done by midnight ... gave up and decided to leave Saturday morning. 

The weekend, as all weekends spent with my parents are, will be a health goals challenge of its own. Sleep probably won't be a problem, but vegetables are rare and exercise frowned upon. Okay, to be fair - they would be fine (though puzzled) if I brought vegetables to add to meals, and people exercising makes them anxious and nervous, not disapproving. Still, I will attempt to keep goals in mind while there.

[stealthstitcher]

Okay, so, sorta wrap up - I did continue with my challenge, just not with reporting. As to vegetables and exercise, I managed to hit my goals more than 95% of the time. As to sleep, not so much. I still feel like I'm staggering around, trying to get my feet under me. But I will persevere and hopefully, be more involved next challenge.