Make and keep a daily schedule

Funny how one thing leads to another. Because I had agreed to write and deliver the Prayers of the People for church last Sunday and needed to meditate on Sunday’s readings in preparation for writing the prayers, I discovered one of the online lectionary sites and ended up getting up early every morning last week to read the daily devotions readings and the Daily Forward meditations. Then Sunday during the inquirer’s class, someone mentioned that there were online resources for praying the daily office which of course I had to check out. One of the best most peaceful times in my life was a week spent in a convent in upstate New York. So this week I am praying the Daily Office and my morning and daily routine is taking shape around the four prayers.

5:00 – meditation followed by morning prayer

6:30 or so – crawl back into bed to awake with my love and sleep or rest while she prepares for work

8:00 – breakfast, dressing, housework (a single task)

9;00 / 9;30 – reading

12:00 Midday Prayer, followed by lunch

1;00 – reading

4:00 – start preparations for dinner, listen to music, news, leisure reading

5:00 – Evening Prayer

5:30/6:00 – Dinner, dishes

7:00 – leisure, blogging, meditation class, Taize, walking, library, etc

9:00 – Compline, prepare for bed

Only two days in and our house feels peaceful. That beautiful paradox: when one takes one’s time, time expands; when one rushes, time contracts.

Some good days, some bad. So we’re trying a little structure again.

Wake up time is 7:30. Bedtime is between 10;30 and 11:30, with being in bed by 10:30 so I can spend an hour or so reading the goal.

I am backing off this goal for now. I’m going to focus on some of the other ones and hope that as I get my Internet use under control and live more productive days I’ll find my natural wake-sleep rhythms.

Right now, I know I’m tired and yet here I still am. I know that that’s not good, ignoring one’s body’s needs.

But I also must keep reminding myself that morning people are not really morally superior to night owls. I just have to find the rhythm that my body naturally dances to and then commit my mind and will to follow.

Sticking to a regular bedtime is going great; sometimes I’m in bed way before minute. Getting up is no quite as easy, but the time I’ve overslept is not that extreme. I’m allowing myself to sleep in an hour longer on the weekends, but I’m leaving bedtime the same.

Next week I’d like to try writing with my online group each night at 10:00 – - see how that goes. And still yoga in the morning when I rise.

The first night I got in bed by 12:30, but I lay awake listening to a book on tape until about 3:30, then I decided 10 it was too hot to sleep and 2) maybe I should switch to music. I turned the heat down and found a cd and slept around 4:00. When the alarm went off at 7:30 I was NOT ready to get up, but I did get out of bed by 8:10. I did some very light yoga, at breakfast, cleaned up the kitchen, took a shower, took books back to the library, bought some groceries, finished a book, lay down for a nap with a new Beatles cd, cleaned the bathroom, had supper, listned to more cds while I read a gardening book and then more poetry. Had a snack. Got ready for bed, and went to bed before 12:00, and fell asleep reading. I woke up before the alarm at 6:45, turned up the heat and relaxed in bed until it was warm and time to get up. I like how changing one’s wake up time will automatically reset one’s bedtime. Pretty cool.

The first part of this goal is to establish regular times for getting out of and going to bed. Rule 1 is that I have to stop staying up all night.

For now bedtime is 12:30. That means shutting down the computer at midnight and getting ready for bed.

For now wake-up time is 7:30.

I’ll try to follow this new schedule for a week or so, and then I’ll add more to the routine, and/or tweak the times.

In the meantime I’d also like to find a template for recording my schedule.

The next parts of the goal will be establishing a morning routine, adding a nap and exercise, and making conscious chices about how to spend leisure time in the evenings.