I’m back with another revisit and this challenge seems to make the trifecta complete. In other words, I’ve revisited “the drinking more water” and “the establishing a regular exercise routine” challenges. So, it seems fitting to add “the getting more sleep” goal to the list. All three of these visits have something clearly in common with one another. They all have to do with getting my health in order and it’s about time. I’ve noticed how easy it is for creative people to let themselves go when putting their full concentration on their craft. Consequently, such a committed focus can lead to burnout and failing health because of the self-neglect. (I don’t want to get to that point). Although I love writing, I have to remember to take care of myself in the process of doing what I love. If I don’t make a dedicated effort to do so, then I won’t be around as long as I’d like (in order to keep doing what I love or be “present” for the people that I love). So, I will be adding the sleep element to the list of my doable goals to incorporate into my daily routine. Here’s what day 28 of the original 30-day challenge entailed:
Task: To increase the amount of sleep I’m getting each night.
Reason for Task: I’m no health guru, nor do I have to be in order to recognize the extreme importance of attaining optimal health through a combination of healthy eating, exercising, and appropriate rest/sleep. Through my prior tasks during this 30-day challenge, I’ve honed in on the first two but left “getting adequate sleep” out of the equation. This exclusion poses a problem for me; because, in order for me to feel and function at my best, I need all three factors to be working in conjunction with one another. I’ve read a few articles about sleep and here are some findings they share in common:
- Most adults need 7 – 9 hours of sleep at night.
- Children will need more hours of sleep per night than an adult.
- Sleep requirements decrease as one’s age increases.
What I’ve learned is that adults may not need as much sleep as children but they do need sleep. And, I have been doing myself a great disservice by scrimping on the shut-eye that is so incredibly vital to my overall well-being.
Duration of Task: It starts today, but my intention is to carry out a beneficial sleep routine on a continual basis for life.
Outcome: I haven’t actually reached the outcome for this task yet, because I haven’t quite turned in for the night. However, I do have a desired “in bed by” goal for today. If I get in bed by 11:30p, I’ll be doing so much better than what I’m accustomed to doing. And, if I meet the goal before midnight, then I’ll be able to count this challenge as successfully completed on Monday. I’ll make sure and follow up with you, regarding the outcome, at a later date.
My intention with this task was not to set a hard-and-fast rule for bed-time. I already know that doing so would not be realistic for my life’s schedule. So, I’m taking a more flexible approach to this challenge by stating that the ultimate goal is to do better today and ongoing than I’ve historically done in the past.
Quote of the Day (mine): My overall philosophy concerning Procrastination Station assignments (inspired by today’s task): some progress is better than none.
Well, this challenge is definitely a stretch goal for me and it never actually took off back in early January 2019, so I’ve decided that today will be the “real” start of the sleep initiative. I’m afraid that I need to be successful at it this go-around. I’m not getting any younger and my workload is not getting any lighter. The only option to make everything work in conjunction with one another is to establish balance by setting a definite go-to-bed schedule and religiously sticking to it.
I plan on keeping 11:30p as my bedtime goal (believe me . . . this is early for me), because I’ll be able to get some uninterrupted non-writing work successfully accomplished during the 9:00-11:30p time frame. I get up with my husband around 4:15a each morning as he gets ready and then leaves for work, but I plan on going back to sleep at 4:30a and staying asleep until 6:30a to get a little more shut-eye. If my calculations are correct, this should leave me with about 7 hours of sleep. I think I can swing this. I just need to be uncompromising with the 11:30p bedtime goal. I look forward to giving myself permission to sleep. One thing I do know is that all of the daily tasks before me aren’t going anywhere, so I don’t have to worry about them running off while I’m resting. They’ll be there to eagerly greet me the next morning.
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