Lately, I have not been a very good example of living the SWEET Life, but I see myself turning a corner . . . My ESL class at Chabot College ends on Tuesday, which will mean more nights at home, eating dinner with my family, making sure my girls get to bed at a decent hour, and ideally, having more time to spend with Nick!
Sleep: The last two nights I have slept well, despite whatever musical beds were being played with my daughters. But I only slept well 6 out of the last 12 nights!
Water: I haven't been drinking enough or paying enough attention to it. Some days I'll fill my pitcher, determined to drink it all, but then I'll be out of the house much of the day or something that throws off my water intake. I'm sure I'd feel better if I drank more and cleaned out my system. It's been about 10 days since I know I drank 8 cups of water in a day.
Eating: That's been a mess too. Mostly, I haven't been paying attention to what I've been eating. Also, I haven't been grocery shopping very much because I'm gone for dinner so often. The end result is that we don't have great food around the house, and I can't honestly say that I've eaten a balanced, healthy diet for the past week.
Exercise: I've been a bit sick this week, so I only exercised Monday and Tuesday. Today, I really should have, but I didn't. Surprisingly, I just bought a new pair of running shoes, which usually really motivates me to go running, but despite having them for a week, I haven't used them yet! It doesn't feel like it to me, but besides this week's illness, I had been exercising 5x/wk.
Tranquility: I don't feel like I've had much Tranquility lately. It seems that whenever I have free time, I spend it doing things that need to be done, like preparing my ESL class, rather than what I would like to do. I don't even know what I would like to do anymore! There are just so many things that I don't know where to start! I've had Tranquility 3 out of 6 days this week.
How did I do, and how do I feel?
Today, I had a S_ _ _ T Life.
I've been looking forward to finishing my ESL teaching for so long that that has been my only focus. Everything else has been put aside until after that class is over, so all free time has been devoted to doing what I can to finish the class (lesson planning, grading, thinking ahead to the final exam, etc.). I was smart enough to set aside 4 hours today to spend preparing my final exam. Nick took the girls out of the house, and I worked and worked. They actually came back, lunch in hand, after 3 1/2 hr, and I think I could have finished writing my final if I'd had that extra 1/2 hr. But it's good to know that I'm 90% finished writing it. Working, focused, for that block of time made me feel really relaxed afterwards, like I could just enjoy the rest of my Saturday with my family.
Showing posts with label obligation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label obligation. Show all posts
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Living Day to Day
Lately, I've only had time to focus on each day as it comes. "What do I HAVE TO do today?" is all I have had time to do each day. I've had very little time to think or prepare ahead of time. Everything else has been on the back burner. Because of that, a lot of little, daily, household tasks haven't been getting done, like laundry, dishes, watering plants, etc.
Fortunately, since I have SWEET Life habits in place, I've been living the SWEET Life pretty well, as busy as I've been.
Sleep
Last night I chose to cut my sleep a bit short in order to grade some papers for my class tonight.
Water
I've been trying hard to drink my water, and I think I've been doing pretty well.
Eating
I've been trying to eat well, even though I haven't had much time to pay attention to what I've been eating.
Exercise
Today I chose to give myself the option of exercise, if I had time, preferring to give myself more time to grade papers for class tonight. I did get my papers graded, but I didn't have time to exercise, so I will exercise on Saturday instead.
Tranquility
Because the girls did tag-team napping, I didn't get my usual afternoon tranquility time. However, when I got home tonight, the house was empty, so I had a little time to myself. Realizing that was going to be my only Tranquility of the day, I made sure to take advantage of it.
How did I do, and how do I feel?
Today, I had a SWE_T Life.
I hate when I have to ignore the big picture to focus on the shortest term deadlines, but it seems like life has been that way for the past month. What can I do? I envy those who are planning ahead or doing things that seem more pleasurable than essential. Now and then, I remind myself that this is only a phase. I will have a lot more free time when my girls are in school, and the reason I'm home now is to have my influence on them while I can, before they go to school. All I can do is set reminders for myself to make sure to do things ahead of time (such as set a reminder to pay a bill a week before it's due). I also need to enlist more help with the little, daily, household tasks, such as laundry, dishes, watering plants, etc.
Fortunately, since I have SWEET Life habits in place, I've been living the SWEET Life pretty well, as busy as I've been.
Sleep
Last night I chose to cut my sleep a bit short in order to grade some papers for my class tonight.
Water
I've been trying hard to drink my water, and I think I've been doing pretty well.
Eating
I've been trying to eat well, even though I haven't had much time to pay attention to what I've been eating.
Exercise
Today I chose to give myself the option of exercise, if I had time, preferring to give myself more time to grade papers for class tonight. I did get my papers graded, but I didn't have time to exercise, so I will exercise on Saturday instead.
Tranquility
Because the girls did tag-team napping, I didn't get my usual afternoon tranquility time. However, when I got home tonight, the house was empty, so I had a little time to myself. Realizing that was going to be my only Tranquility of the day, I made sure to take advantage of it.
How did I do, and how do I feel?
Today, I had a SWE_T Life.
I hate when I have to ignore the big picture to focus on the shortest term deadlines, but it seems like life has been that way for the past month. What can I do? I envy those who are planning ahead or doing things that seem more pleasurable than essential. Now and then, I remind myself that this is only a phase. I will have a lot more free time when my girls are in school, and the reason I'm home now is to have my influence on them while I can, before they go to school. All I can do is set reminders for myself to make sure to do things ahead of time (such as set a reminder to pay a bill a week before it's due). I also need to enlist more help with the little, daily, household tasks, such as laundry, dishes, watering plants, etc.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Obligation vs. Desire
Sleep
I slept enough even though Zoe interrupted my sleep a lot. She kept Nick on the edge of the bed and I kept pulling her back towards me to give him more space. Stupid me, if she were in his way, he could have moved her out of it! Turns out, he didn't even know that he'd been obligated to sleep on the edge of the bed because of her desire to snuggle up with him!
Water
Today was a perfect example of how dehydration affects the body. I was out and about most of the day, doing various things, and I came home knowing I was dehydrated. But I felt more than thirsty; I felt sleepy, lacking in energy, short-tempered, and had parched lips. All because I didn't drink enough while I was out and about!
Eating
I certainly ate a lot of delicious, healthy food, but whether I fulfilled all my body's nutritional obligations, I don't know. I didn't keep track. Generally, I just try to think about what % of my eating was junk food, and if the % is low (10%) then I figure I ate well. I should probably keep better track of filling in my food circles on my SWEET Life Plan, if only I had the desire.
Exercise
Isn't it interesting that after a week of barely dragging myself out of bed to do my early morning exercises and after another week of coninually hitting "snooze" and not getting up to do my early morning exercises, once I decide to cancel the alarm and not exercise in the early morning, I wake up at 6:30 a.m. ready to exercise! It's amazing how desire is so much more motivating than obligation.
Tranquility
I got some tranquility but not enough. Maya slept well after our long day out and about, but it was cut short by the obligation to go pick up Zoe from daycare. Both Maya and I desired 1-2 hours more tranquility time before getting Zoe.
How do I feel?
I had a really fun day with Maya. We did this, that and the other, and she's just at a fun, capable age now (3 1/2). I don't need a diaper bag with her; we can do things rather quickly; she can run, obey and follow directions, etc. She's interested in knowing about the world and how it works in daily life, which means I can take her to fulfill some of my obligations and she has the desire to be there, learn about it, and help me in any way she can. It was great!
I slept enough even though Zoe interrupted my sleep a lot. She kept Nick on the edge of the bed and I kept pulling her back towards me to give him more space. Stupid me, if she were in his way, he could have moved her out of it! Turns out, he didn't even know that he'd been obligated to sleep on the edge of the bed because of her desire to snuggle up with him!
Water
Today was a perfect example of how dehydration affects the body. I was out and about most of the day, doing various things, and I came home knowing I was dehydrated. But I felt more than thirsty; I felt sleepy, lacking in energy, short-tempered, and had parched lips. All because I didn't drink enough while I was out and about!
Eating
I certainly ate a lot of delicious, healthy food, but whether I fulfilled all my body's nutritional obligations, I don't know. I didn't keep track. Generally, I just try to think about what % of my eating was junk food, and if the % is low (10%) then I figure I ate well. I should probably keep better track of filling in my food circles on my SWEET Life Plan, if only I had the desire.
Exercise
Isn't it interesting that after a week of barely dragging myself out of bed to do my early morning exercises and after another week of coninually hitting "snooze" and not getting up to do my early morning exercises, once I decide to cancel the alarm and not exercise in the early morning, I wake up at 6:30 a.m. ready to exercise! It's amazing how desire is so much more motivating than obligation.
Tranquility
I got some tranquility but not enough. Maya slept well after our long day out and about, but it was cut short by the obligation to go pick up Zoe from daycare. Both Maya and I desired 1-2 hours more tranquility time before getting Zoe.
How do I feel?
I had a really fun day with Maya. We did this, that and the other, and she's just at a fun, capable age now (3 1/2). I don't need a diaper bag with her; we can do things rather quickly; she can run, obey and follow directions, etc. She's interested in knowing about the world and how it works in daily life, which means I can take her to fulfill some of my obligations and she has the desire to be there, learn about it, and help me in any way she can. It was great!
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