Get up when my clock goes off

I have been much better about this goal for the last two weeks. I don’t know what just clicked. I think I finally got tired of setting the clock for an hour or more before I needed to get up and then sleeping over it. I also got tired of having to rush to get out the door and driving like a mad woman to the Park and Ride and then, still, usually missing the bus. I finally told myself this was like doing the dishes, taking care of the laundry, or paying the bills on time. Sooner or later it is time to be a grown-up and just get up.

I am going to keep to my schedule this weekend and get up at the same time. If I want a nap in the afternoon I can have one.

I think the answer to achieving this goal is three-fold: get to bed earlier (another goal) and get more activity (2 other goals) and drink plenty of water but drink it earlier in the day (1 goal).

When I go swimming or get in 7000-9000 steps of walking in a day, then I sleep like a baby and feel refreshed when I wake up.

When I sit on the computer all day (as my job frequently requires)(and my brain requires to “decompress” sometimes on the weekend after a 10-day working stint) I wake up feeling like poop.

I need to get off work sooner, so I can walk the dog, eat supper, wash up and fix my lunch for tomorrow, straighten the house some, then pick my clothes for tomorrow, brush and floss and get in my jammys, and turn in at 11:00 PM. I can still read a bit in bed – but I usually can’t read more than about 10-15 minutes before I start dozing. Once I start dozing I am out for the night. Sounds heavenly to me.

If I go swimming after work, I can skip dinner and washing up – eat a frozen dinner or pick up something instead – and forget the house work. (The dog always must be walked!) Sometimes I am entergized from swimming so do a fair bit of cleaning or the laundry when I get home. (Swimming is so good for my mental and physical health!) It doesn’t matter. I’ll fit in what I can! At 10:30 I need to quit everything, pick out my clothes for tomorrow and brush and floss.

If I wake up at 6:30 AM so be it. I’ll have time for a nice leisurely shower and a real breakfast and maybe another quick walk with the dog.

On weekends I need to get up, get dressed and immediately get outside – either to garden or to walk. If I drink coffee and stay in my bathrobe until noon, I usually don’t get much excercise outside of industrious house work on Saturday or Sunday. I can get more done in my bathrobe than some people can get done all day – it just doesn’t put me in the frame of mind to “be active!!!!” when I putter around the first half of the day.

When I get out and get moving and start pruning trees first thing, man! Come 10 PM I am ready to go to bed – not to sit on the computer until 2 AM!

When I stay up past 12 midnight – I start getting mentally tired also and then go hit the bag of chocolate chips in the baking supplies – or eat 2 puddings cups when I really don’t need them.

This would be life changing. Like the vitamins. And getting all my laundry done. And drinking 64 ounces of water every day. Hmmmm. Think I can do it?