Tag: routine

Routinely

~ Sue ~ 1 Comment

It is busy time for me. Work is at the busiest period of the year, so I am working 5 days a week (50 hours instead of my normal 40). It is okay, the extra money is handy, but it can be so tiring working an extra 10 hours. Needs must. 2026 is going to be an expensive year, as there are lots of plans and aims, so it is good that I have some extra money coming in.

I usually leave the house at 6am, to bus my way to work, which I start at 7.30am. One of my things I wanted to do this year, is finally get a morning routine sorted out. I have been good at just rolling out of bed at the latest possible time, without being late for work. So, I have started waking up at 4.30am. Yes, I know that sounds like the middle of the night. My routine includes doing some pilates for 10 minutes, making my bed, brush my teeth, and then make my lunch for the day ahead.

I know that it doesn’t sound much, but you have to start from somewhere. And, if you don’t try then you don’t get anywhere. It is better to try, and then fail, rather than sit by and do nothing. And, I am finding that I find doing small bits, makes it easier to get moving, as it means that I have already achieved something before the day even gets started.

As well as working all day, I also still have to study, for at least 10 hours a week. I am going to see if I can start a post-work routine, where I can study for a few hours, then still have time to read/journal/watch TV. It means that the is pretty full on. But, it should see progress in everything that I want. It feels exhausting, but they do say that anything worth doing, requires some effort.

So let’s put some effort in and see what happens

A Little Push Every Day.

~ Sue ~ 1 Comment

During my last post, I talked about trying to get my life in some kind of order. After some further thought, I decided to give myself till Christmas, as a place to assess how well things have gotten. So I have decided to focus on different things every day, do things in small bits. Because, when you simply look at the ‘bigger picture’ it can easily become overwhelming. Or, it does when I do.

Yesterday was a struggle, where I was really sore. I find it really hard to start moving, when I have no solid plans. So I lay on my bed, and felt sorry for myself. I was awake early, but I had no motivation. And that is the issue, the longer I lie, the more everything hurts. Around midday, I got a text from my friend about going to get some coffee after her work, and that appeared to be all the plan I needed. It was frustrating because I couldn’t even do the dishes because I had zero grip, which made me feel useless and I had a little cry. I then went for the bus and bought a sandwich to finally have some painkillers. Progress.

As I already knew, once I had my pain relief and had started walking around, things started to feel a lot better. I had coffee with my friend, and then I went and bought stuff for dinner. I ended up feeling so good I made my dinner, which is a rarity when I have a bad pain day. And then I finally did dishes, so despite starting off bad, I felt rather accomplished.

So, I decided that as I watched the TV during the evening, I was going to do some drawing. One of those hobbies that I have been struggling with. So I charged up my Apple Pencil, and spent around an hour doing a doodle. It wasn’t a piece of fantastic art, but it was a bit of creativity. I am fully aware it looks like a piece of crap.

Today has been a lot better. I got up and moving at a decent time. Had breakfast and pain relief at a decent hour. I then did the dishes, and decided I needed to do some laundry. 5 loads of laundry to be exact. And I organised some things in my room, which made the mess a little bit less messy. I did it whilst listening to some vinyl, namely Descendents’ Everything Sux, and NWA’s Straight Outta Compton. By focusing on what I was doing for short burst, I was quite productive. I’ve now had my dinner, half my laundry is drying on the line outside, and I am planning on having a wee read tonight, after I finish writing.

I feel like a person who can actually function today, which is rare. This is the feeling that I wanted, and one I hope to continue. I’m very good at recognising the bad days, but I need to recognise the good days more.

Daily Routine?

~ Sue ~ 1 Comment

Do you have a daily routine?

I don’t. And it works me up sometimes, because everything just ends up a mess and I panic. I get very anxious if I feel out of control, yet at the same time, I am constantly struggling to get organised. Everything is always such a muddle, as it has always been. And it sometimes gets to the stage when I have panic attacks because of the stress.

I try to write lists. As these can sometimes calm me down. It helps me gain a little bit of control, stops my brain working at 90 miles an hour. It also helps to sometimes document the way I’m feeling. That way I can feel like I am ‘talking through’ what nonsense is in my head, without feeling I am imposing on anyone. As silly as it sounds, it does help me.

A piece of advice I get a lot, to help lower anxiety levels, is to start a daily routine. Same things every day, just so that I have a solid foundation to work off. So that if things do go a bit wrong, I can deal. At the moment there is no standard routine, so everything is all over the place in general, and when something goes wrong, it gets worse. So, I am going to spend the next few days trying to figure out a routine that I can do EVERY DAY. A routine that isn’t me getting out of bed 10 minutes before I need to leave the house.