It always starts so innocuously: I stay up late in a well-meaning effort to finish a project, and sleep late the next day as a result. Days pass, and bedtime inches back later and later... until, like right now, I'm going to bed at 5 or 5:30am on a nightly basis.
Yup, that's where my schedule is right now. Bedtime fluctuates between 4am and 5:30am, and my days start at anywhere from noon to (on really bad days) 2pm.
Some people would kill to be able to keep these hours, but I'm embarrassed and kind of sick of it. It is a lot easier to slip into this schedule than it is to reverse the process, though. Part of my problem is that staying up late has a genuine advantage: I work faster, harder, and better late at night, without any interruptions. The other part of my problem is that virtually nothing wakes me up. Multiple alarms, loud alarm, phone calls from my honey - none of it works anymore. I even bought one of those vintage double-bell alarm clocks, and within a week I had gotten used to the brrrrring of the alarm and was sleeping through it, too.
Just tonight, though, I made a decision - which is why I'm blogging about this in the first place. I am going to readjust my schedule. My goal is to shift it a few hours back, so that I'm getting up around 10am and going to bed around 2am (my favorite schedule). The problem is that, although working late into the night works really well for me, breaking my day up like that doesn't. By the time I'm done searching for jobs, sifting through email, and getting into "the zone," Michael's day is almost over - and of course, when he's home I want to spend time with him. Unfortunately, that means that when he goes to bed, I have to get warmed up all over again.
Sitting down at 11pm or midnight with a full "day's" work ahead of me sucks. I would much rather be settling in with a book to read for a few hours.
So, that's my goal. It'll be a tough one, and slow going, so I may not blog with my progress every day. Honestly, I'm not yet sure how I'm going to overcome my sleep-through-WWIII problem, particularly if sheer determination doesn't do the trick. But I'll keep you updated.
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4 comments:
If you are reading this - go to bed :)
LOL! Baby steps. I'm aiming for 3am tonight.
(I went to bed at 5:15am last night, despite my resolution, and I got up at the usual time today too.)
Oh my, can I ever associate with what you're saying. I have actually had to set rules for myself such as what you spoke of. Since I and my hubby both work from home, he too has a lot of evenings when there is paperwork to catch up on, so we've set a guide for ourselves, we cut off working at 9pm. Then, we make a "date" to meet in the living room, share TV, conversation and then go to bed like "normal" folk, getting up early and starting in another day. Whatever work is left, just has to be left, we decided our relationship takes priority to work, because if we're not happy we don't produce. A new rule that my husband instilled for me *giggle* is that Monday's are my day off. I have been working 7 days a week for over 2 years, and since Monday's are always hectic around the house with things, we decided I would leave work until Tuesdays and then I wouldn't be so stressed. I still find myself sitting in front of the computer, checking email every 30 seconds just to feel the keys under my fingertips, I think you know exactly what I'm saying.
If I could interject a "pet-peeve" here for a moment, I'd like to get your feedback on this issue, which is somewhat along the same line. Do you ever notice that because you work from home, no one thinks you work? I actually have relatives that will call me on the phone during one of my busiest times, when the creativity is actually flowing, and the first thing out of their mouth, "What are you doing?" I respond with, "Oh my working!" They then say, "Oh good, I'm not interrupting anything," and then start in on a conversation that is more than long enough to kill the moment when I was really getting the thoughts put down to paper. And then they'll say, "Well, I'll call you tomorrow and check in, are you going to be busy?" I'll say, "Working really hard I have a deadline to meet." To which they respond, "Great, I'll call around noon!" Granted, I'm not setting the world on fire with what I do, but it's important to me, and I make nice money doing it, which makes me feel as if I'm contributing to the family funds. And NEVER should you feel stressed in front of some people about work, because they'll just laugh and say, "Why should you be stressed? You lead a great life, just sit at home in front of the computer all day!" Well, yes and no, they don't realize how hard of a job writing is, no it's not physical labor, but it's definitely mental labor, which in my opinion can be more exhausting at times.
Ok, I just had to vent about that one, I don't mean to make my replies so long, but when it comes to writing, I can't do anything condensed.
It sounds like you and your husband have a good system! Michael and I need to get a better one into place. He works a regular job, but he also is working on his degree, so he often does homework in the evenings. The problem is, we both find it difficult to work when the other is around.
As for your little rant, I totally know what you're talking about. I get it too! When one of my best friends was unemployed, she was always trying to get me to go out to lunch with her, since "neither of us had a job." Sometimes I could make time, but other times I couldn't, and I'm not sure she ever got that.
Anyway, I love reading your comments -- thanks for visiting! :o)
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