One thing I am learning about this job is that I am “on” a lot more. I need 8 hours sleep a night to do it well. Usually I get that much on the weekend and then manage 6-7 hours a night during the week. It’s not enough.
These days I arrive at work to a fully scheduled day. There are no breaks unless a meeting ends early or if I arrive somewhere before the “travel time” between meetings allotted in my schedule is over.
There are two challenges: One is being with people all day. I say I’m a well disguised introvert. But this schedule taxes my disguise. The other is the issue of finding time to prepare for meetings or do the follow up after.
So easy, right? Get enough sleep.
Part of the problem is that I am not yet living in Guelph 7 days a week. Instead, my weekends are spent helping the family with house renos and packing up all the London stuff to get the house ready to go on the market. There’s driving between cities and they’re busy weekends with lots of physical work in them for everyone. I arrive back in Guelph late, late Sunday night and get up early Monday morning, not exactly ready for my busy weeks.
I’m going to commit to a weekday 10 pm bedtime for awhile since my weekend catch-up plan is no longer working.
Yawn! Hoping to avoid being like this kitten in meetings today.
I posted this on FB, but in case it would help someone here:
I don’t know if this will help you–it’s taken a WHILE to really work for me, but it is now. I’m trying to ensure I’m in bed by 11pm. It takes me a while to transition to sleep (I was terrible at going to sleep as a kid, even though I’m naturally a morning person). I set a number of reminders and alarms.
Reminder 1: 9:05 “Start Relaxing” It’s to remind me to finish up what I’m doing and start thinking toward bedtime. I think I should probably move it to closer to 9:30, because I’m thinking it might be too early to help.
Alarm 1 (Sun-Thurs): 9:51, “Get Ready for Bed”
Plays the “silk” alarm (apple), which is a relaxing harp.
This has been catching my attention and I do finish up whatever I’m working on.
Alarm 2 (Sun-Thurs): 10:11 “Prioritize Sleep”
Plays the “bulletin” alarm (apple), chimes (not too loud but more urgent than “silk.”
I am probably up to 85-90% compliance with this one and I get up and start my routine.
Left to my own devices, I goof around until I actually should be sleeping and then I’m chronically tired. I am getting much closer to my goals this way.