Changing Up My Schedule

a funky caterpillar we found in our yard

As I mentioned Monday, I've been working on changing my schedule the last two weeks. For the last year and a half or so I've been staying up late to work on my businesses. This means I was going to bed between 1 and 2 am every day, then sleeping until 8/8:30/however long the kiddos would allow me to sleep.

Of course, this meant I was chronically tired and irritable, and it made it a lot harder to get my workouts in. I am most consistent with my workouts when I do them in the morning, and if my morning is half gone before I even wake up, they just don't happen.

Seeing my weight creep up again as I neglect my workouts even more than I already had been was the final straw.

They say the best sleep happens before midnight and that lack of sleep increases cortisol levels and makes it hard to lose weight and stresses the body.

I'm tired of being tired and stressed out and I really need to start exercising consistently and losing weight.

In the past I've thought about waking up early to work, but nixed the idea because River is a light sleeper and an early riser and I didn't want him waking up even earlier. Also, I do my best work when I can focus and not worry about what the kiddos are or aren't doing.

This time though, the considerations of quality sleep and decreased stress outweighed the concern about River's sleep habits. If I designate the early morning hours for writing, I can stay in bed and quietly work on my computer, which will hopefully keep from disturbing River.

For the last two weeks I've made an effort to wake up at 6 am, with good success. I actually had to change my wakeup time to 7 am the second week because I got sick again, but there have only been a couple mornings I wasn't awake by 7. On the upside, while Ocean shared his germs with me, I never got as sick as him, so hopefully that means my body is less stressed and better able to function properly.

The harder part is getting to bed by 10 pm. Sometimes it's 11, but I'm making progress. The first few nights were rough since my body wasn't used to going to sleep so early, but I'm adjusting. And my body is really liking the quality sleep- I've been waking up easier and feeling more rested.

Eventually I'll move my wake up time to 5 am, and then maybe even 4 am, but that will only happen when I'm consistently going to sleep by 10 pm and not feeling stressed and sleep deprived.

I've also looked at my daily schedule and blocked out time for exercising, for working, for meal prep, for schoolwork, for going outside with the kids, etc. I've been really bad about sticking to a schedule lately because of my variable wake up times, but waking up earlier and at a consistent time is enabling me to get back on a schedule.

I won't lie, sticking to a schedule is also a challenge, and of course the kiddos don't always go to sleep or wake up when the schedule says they should, but we're getting there. Knowing that it will allow me to use my time more efficiently and be more intentional about my tasks and activities is a good incentive to keep working on consistency.

I've also gotten in the habit of having my laptop out way more than I'd like, under the hope that I could squeeze some work in here and there. But the small amount of work I was able to accomplish doesn't compensate for having the constant distraction of the computer and the example it set for the kiddos. Trying to restrict my working time to specific blocks allows me to put aside my laptop during other hours and do less multi-tasking, which isn't as efficient as I'd like it to be. And it allows me to be more present and less distracted with the kiddos.

The first week of my schedule change was the crazy week I talked about on Monday, but the second week, this week, has been a lot more calm and productive. As I said earlier, everything's a work in progress and there is definitely room for improvement, so I'll continue to work on my sleep habits and my daily schedule.