The Kat Files

Happy Monday, dear reader. I have completed the third week of my August challenge. Even though I was back to my normal daily routine last week, I am still working out the kinks with work flow and daily output. While I am seeing progress in some areas of my life, I am at a standstill in others. As I mentioned at the end of last Monday’s post, I need to tweak my writing schedule. My writing goals at the moment are to write one blog post and three book reviews on Goodreads per week which is perfectly feasible. The stumbling block I am encountering is scheduling an appropriate amount of writing time each day towards both goals. Ultimately, I want to develop a daily writing habit. In addition, I want to finish my personal library project which means I need to devote a specified amount of time to organizing my book collection each day.

Pre-Sleep Ritual and Bedtime

Despite having a normal daily routine all week, I am still all over the place with my pre-sleep ritual. In general, my evenings look different depending on whether or not my hubby is home or out of town, if I walk in the evening, or if I go somewhere in the evenings with Barry or friends. Therefore, my pre-sleep ritual will look differently depending on the day. The good news is I am seeing the development of an evening routine in spite of my wonky pre-sleep ritual. It makes me wonder, do I even need a pre-sleep ritual?

• Monday: I walked (stretched afterwards) from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM. I updated my fitness progress on Kat’s Team on FB, set the alarm on my phone to wake up and put it on the charger, loaded the remaining dishes in the diswasher and started it, took my dogs out, folded and put away dog sheets/towels, showered, dressed in my pjs, and updated my habits journal. I was in bed at 8:37 PM where I read three stories in My Southern Journey by Rick Bragg and a couple of pages in The Library of Unruly Treasures by Jeanne Birdsall.  Lights out at 9:08 PM. Note: I forgot to put out my workout clothes for Tuesday morning. That one little habit the night before makes a big difference the next morning.

• Tuesday: Since I woke up several times the night before, I decided to walk in the morning after doing my BODI workout (Get Stronger with Kelsey Heenan). Barry Jr. and I went to the movies at 12:45 PM to see Spiderman: Brand New Day. Afterwards, I went to Freshter to pick up a few pre-made meals. Once home, I fed my dogs and worked on a puzzle (see photo above). I got lost in the puzzle, so I cooked and ate later than normal (6:30 PM). After eating dinner and cleaning up the kitchen, I went back to working on that puzzle until 8:00 PM. I was in the puzzle zone. HA! From 8:00 PM – 8:45 PM, I took my dogs out, got ready for bed, put out my workout clothes, updated Discord, set phone alarm, put phone on the charger, and updated my habits journal. I was in bed at 8:57 PM where I read three stories in My Southern Journey and a couple of chapters in The Library of Unruly Treasures.  Lights out at 9:34 PM.

• Wednesday: I ended my weekly Wednesday livestream a little after 7:00 PM. I returned my cousin Junior’s phone call at 7:30 PM. He had called me with the sad news that my Uncle Manuel was in hospice after an accident getting out of bed sent him to the hospital with an unfavorable prognosis. We talked for about 10 minutes, and then I called my dad (Uncle Manuel’s brother) with the news. From 8:00 PM to 8:30 PM, I got ready for bed, put out my workout clothes, and texted Heather and Donna about dinner on Friday night. At 8:30 PM, I worked on an Instagram story and a post on Discord for Summer Book Bingo plus a wrap-up post. Afterwards, I set phone alarm, put phone on the charger, and updated my habits journal. I was in bed at 9:37 PM where I read The Library of Unruly Treasures. Lights out at 9:52 PM.

• Thursday: After all the things, I decided at 6:30 PM to pop some popcorn and watched a couple of episodes of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. At 8:00 PM, I took the dogs out and worked on my puzzle. Barry was out of town, so I got in the puzzle zone once again. I worked on that puzzle until 10:40 PM. YIKES! At that point, I got ready for bed, set phone alarm, put phone on the charger, put out my workout clothes, and updated my habits journal. NO reading! Lights out at 11:05 PM.

• Friday: No pre-sleep ritual. I met Donna at her office at 4:20 PM. She drove us to French Settlement to meet Heather at Marlie’s Restaurant where we had a fantastic dinner and lively conversation. I was home by 9:30 PM where I took the sofa cover out of the dryer and put back on the sofa. Then, I got ready for bed, set phone alarm, put phone on the charger, put out my workout clothes, and updated my habits journal. I was in bed at 10:20 PM where I attempted to read The Lying Game. Lights out at 10:27 PM.

• Saturday: After a full day, my hubby, my dad, and I sat down at 6:00 PM to watch a movie and one episode of The X-Files. Afterwards, I got ready for bed, set phone alarm, put phone on the charger, put out my workout clothes, and updated my habits journal. I was in bed at 9:50 PM where I again attempted to read The Lying Game. Lights out at 10:03 PM.

• Sunday: I walked (stretched afterwards) from 7:00 PM to 7:45 PM. At 7:50 PM, I showered, dressed in my pjs, put clothes in the washer, and put out my workout clothes. At 8:21, I updated my fitness progress on Kat’s Team on FB and posted my rating of Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor on Instagram and Discord. Then, I set phone alarm, put phone on the charger, and updated my habits journal. I was in bed at 8:50 PM where I read The Lying Game. Lights out at 9:30 PM.

Over the course of the week, my pre-sleep ritual varied anywhere from 6:00 PM to 10:40 PM with no pre-sleep ritual on Friday night because I spent the evening with my friends, Donna and Heather. As for being asleep each evening by 10:00 PM, I succeeded 4/7 nights and came very close on Saturday night. I did much better this week than the previous week. My quality of sleep last week was not as good as the previous week, but it was still okay in general. Unfortunately, going to bed late on Thursday night was not a smart decision. Thankfully, it did not derail me getting up on time the next morning.

Wake-Up Time

My hope in my last update was to be getting up at 5:20 AM by Sunday; however, I did not succeed. I did well ALL week until Sunday morning. I decided, when I woke up at 5:11 AM, to turn off my alarm. I woke up again at 5:51 AM but stayed in bed until 7:01. Yes, I was disappointed with myself.

• Monday: 5:23 AM
• Tuesday: 5:35 AM
• Wednesday: 5:34 AM
• Thursday: 5:30 AM
• Friday: 5:30 AM
• Saturday: 5:30 AM
• Sunday: 7:01 AM

Today marks the beginning of Week 4 and the last week of my August challenge. I have one more week to establish an evening routine with or without a pre-sleep ritual. I will not abandon the pre-sleep ritual just yet. I will continue experimenting with it for this last week, making an effort to put away my phone by 8:30 PM if not earlier. I want to strive to be in bed between 9:00 PM and 9:30 PM with lights out by 10:00 PM on nights that I do not have evening plans. I will continue adjusting my wake-up time with the hope of waking up at 5:20 AM by the end of this week. I plan to walk every morning this week (Monday-Friday) after doing my BODI program in the morning (Monday-Friday). Since I will not be walking in the evenings and my quality of sleep is just okay, I will try the Magnesium Glycinate again. If I do not see any difference in my quality of sleep this week, I will ditch the Magnesium Glycinate for good. I am excited to see my final results of this challenge. Happiness!

“Look for magic in the daily routine.” ~ Lou Barlow

Happy Monday, dear reader. We have crossed the midway point of August, and I have completed the second week of my August challenge. Last week was an interesting week to track because I was not in my normal daily routine. I volunteered at the HGCS Scholastic Book Fair on Tuesday through Thursday (8:00 AM-2:30 PM) and at the FOTL Store on Friday (8:30 AM-12:30 PM). I also attended my first Friends of the Library Meeting at SLU (Southeastern Louisiana University) on Thursday afternoon (4:00-5:00 PM). My friend Sue talked me into becoming a board member. Before I share final thoughts on my daily routine, let me share how I did with my pre-sleep ritual, bedtime, and wake-up time.

Pre-Sleep Ritual and Bedtime

I am still experimenting with my pre-sleep ritual, and I have a feeling that experimenting will be the case for the entire month. Not all of my evenings were created equal this past week. With me being away from home during the day (Tuesday-Friday), having afternoon/evening commitments, and trying to keep up with chores, I was kind of all over the place with my pre-sleep ritual; however, I did have something that loosely resembled one. I am seeing an evening routine taking shape even though my pre-sleep ritual is not as clearly defined, at least not in the way Robin Sharma illustrates it in The 5AM Club.

• Monday: No pre-sleep ritual. I walked in the morning, so I could meet online with my friend Alex at 5 PM to chat about our buddy read, Wolves of the Calla by Stephen King. We are on a quest to read the entire Dark Tower series this year. We also chatted about other stuff, so we did not finish our chat until about 7:30 PM, and I still had a couple of chores to complete as well as revising and publishing my blog post about my first week of the challenge before heading to bed. Lights out at 11:38 PM.

• Tuesday: I walked from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM since I volunteered at the book fair and did not have enough time to exercise in the morning. I guess I can count my evening walk as the activity that transitions me into my pre-sleep ritual. I always stretch after my walk and usually update my fitness progress on Kat’s Team (accountability group on FB run by my friend Kathryn) before taking my shower. From 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM, I took my dogs out one last time, showered, dressed in my pjs, checked social media and responded to comments, loaded remaining dishes in the dishwasher and started it, and listened to an audiobook (Kiss of the Bees by J.A. Jance). I was in bed at 9:26 PM where I read a couple of stories in My Southern Journey by Rick Bragg and finished reading Blood in the Water by Tiffany D. Jackson. Lights out at 10:25 PM.

• Wednesday: I host What’s Up Wednesday!, a livestream on YouTube (generally every Wednesday), starting at 3:30 PM where we come together as a community to read, work on hobbies, or relax with chatty bits in between. I have been striving to end my sprints no later than 7:15 PM, so I can go for my evening walk. I walked/stretched from 7:20 PM – 8:06 PM. From 8:06 PM to 9:40, I updated the accountability group, took my dogs out, completed four chores, showered, dressed in my pjs, and listened to an audiobook (Kiss of the Bees). I also played on my phone for a few minutes. I was in bed at 9:40 PM where I read a couple of stories in My Southern Journey. Lights out at 10:07 PM.

• Thursday: By the time I got home at 5:35 PM after working the book fair and attending the library board meeting, I was pooped and hot. I had no interest in walking later, so I microwaved a bag of popcorn, sat in my favorite comfy chair in the living room and watched three episodes of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. From 8:15 PM to 9:14 PM, I set the alarm on my phone and put it on the charger, loaded the remaining dishes in the diswasher and started it, took my dogs out, showered, dressed in my pjs, and updated my habits journal. I was in bed at 9:14 PM where I read a chapter in The Library of Unruly Treasures by Jeanne Birdsall. Lights out at 9:28 PM.

• Friday: No evening walk. Barry was out of town all week for work, so when he got home I wanted to spend time with him. At 7:30 PM, we started watching a movie together, Hell House LLC: The Abaddon Hotel (movie 2 in the Hell House LLC franchise that we are watching for the Augtober Film Fest hosted by my friend Jen). At 9:00 PM, I updated my thoughts about the movie on social media. At 9:30 PM, I got ready for bed and put my workout clothes in the bathroom, so I could walk in the morning before Saturday Morning Momentum, a weekly productivity livestream that I host with friends on most Saturday mornings. I was in bed at 9:51 PM where I read a story in My Southern Journey. Lights out at 10:03 PM.

• Saturday: No evening walk since I walked in the morning. At 7:30 PM, Barry and I watched Black Adam. Apparently, I was more tired than I thought because I kept dozing during the movie. At 9:40 PM, I put my workout clothes in the bathroom, so I could walk in the morning. I had already gotten ready for bed midway through the movie. I was in bed at 9:45 PM where I read part of a story in My Southern Journey. Lights out at 9:54 PM.

• Sunday: No evening walk since I walked in the morning. At 6:30 PM, I got ready for bed, and Barry and I watched two episodes of The X-Files (Season 1). At 7:51, Bailey needed to go out, so I took both of my dogs out. We finished the last few minutes of The X-Files. I set my phone alarm and put it on the charger. I also put my workout clothes in the bathroom, so I could do Get Stronger with Kelsey Heenan: Upper Body in the morning. I was in bed at 8:34 PM where I tried to read The Library of Unruly Treasures. I kept dozing off. Lights out at 8:49 PM.

As I mentioned, my pre-sleep ritual looked different each day, and it did NOT always start at 7:00 PM. Over the course of the week, it varied anywhere from 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM with no pre-sleep ritual on Monday night because I stayed up too late finishing my blog post. As for being asleep each evening by 10PM, I succeeded 2/7 nights and came very close on Wednesday night and Friday night. My quality of sleep last week was much better than the previous week. I still woke up at least once to use the bathroom and another time an hour or two before waking up, but I went right back to sleep with no issues. My sleep was not as fractured, and I felt rested when I woke up the next morning. I skipped taking the Magnesium Glycinate all last week and only walked two evenings, so I am wondering if eliminating either of those two elements impacted my quality of sleep. I chose self-care over my evening walk on Thursday because I had nothing left in my tank by that point. I chose spending time with Barry on Friday evening in lieu of my walk because he had been gone all week. I would have gladly gone for my walk earlier before he got home, but it was way too hot to walk any earlier than 7:00 PM. Believe me, it is still hot and humid at 7:00 PM; however, the sun is not beating down on you.

Wake-Up Time

I have barely inched my way closer to the 5 AM wake-up time finish line. I was hoping by Sunday morning, I would be getting up by 5:30 AM; however, I did not quite make it. Although, as you can see from my wake-up times below, on Friday morning and Saturday morning, I woke up before my alarm. Instead of waiting in bed for my alarm to go off, I got up and started my day. I am proud of myself for sticking with my wake-up plan even with going to bed late on Monday night.

• Monday: 5:45 AM
• Tuesday: 5:45 AM
• Wednesday: 5:40 AM
• Thursday: 5:40 AM
• Friday: 5:22 AM
• Saturday: 5:22 AM
• Sunday: 5:40 AM

Daily Routine

Except for Monday, I did not follow my normal daily routine. As I mentioned in last Monday’s update, my daily routine schedule will mainly focus on Monday through Thursday which I am treating like a work schedule. Friday will be treated like a day off for appointments, errands, etc. Therefore, my volunteering at the FOTL Store’s monthly book sale fell on my “day off.” I went into Week 2 with low expectations as to which daily routine tasks I would be able to accomplish after completing chores and other afternoon/evening commitments. Therefore, I think I did well with this goal.

Today marks the beginning of Week 3 of this challenge. We shall see how I do with my daily routine since I do not have any outside morning commitments on my calendar. Already, I know I need to tweak my writing schedule. Additionally, when planning the upcoming week on Friday mornings, I need to be more intentional with my time by being more realistic with how much I can accomplish each day. I will continue experimenting with my pre-sleep ritual. The important part of this ritual for me is setting the alarm on my phone for the next morning; then, putting it on the charger by 8:30 PM. By that point, I will have updated Kat’s Team on FB and finished listening to my audiobook or podcast for the day. I will continue adjusting my wake up time with the hope of waking up at 5:20 AM by the end of this week. I will continue striving to be asleep by 10:00 PM. I plan to walk every evening this week (Monday-Friday) since I am doing my BODI program in the morning (Monday-Friday). I will not take the Magnesium Glycinate again this week. If my quality of sleep this week matches my quality of sleep from last week, I will not use the Magnesium Glycinate at all after this week. Clearly, it is not necessary. I am enjoying the consistency that I am incorporating in my life which is contributing to my well-being. Happiness!

“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day-in and day-out.” ~Robert Collier

Happy Monday, dear reader. I have completed Week 1 of my August challenge, so let me share my progress with you. My goals for this challenge are that by the end of August, as part of my evening routine, I want to have a flexible pre-sleep ritual in place, be asleep by 10PM each evening, be awake by 5AM each morning, and keep a record of my daily routine throughout August. In my post August Adjustment: Rebalance for Rest and Routine, I listed the action steps that I would be taking to adjust my evening routine by implementing a pre-sleep ritual as well as working on the other goals for this month’s challenge.

I went into the first week of the challenge knowing I would be experimenting with my pre-sleep ritual. It would look different depending on the day, so flexibility was important. As I expected, my pre-sleep ritual looked different each day, and it did NOT start at 7:00 PM. Over the course of the week, it varied anywhere from 7:20 PM to 9:00 PM with no pre-sleep ritual on Friday night because Barry and I attended a concert at the Columbia Theatre that started at 7:30 PM. After this first week, I know that my pre-sleep ritual cannot consistently take place between 7:00-9:00 PM nightly and will not be structured in the same way Robin Sharma outlined it in The 5AM Club. Obviously, his outline is an example that needs to be tailored to the individual who is trying to implement a pre-sleep ritual into his/her evening routine.

As for being asleep each evening by 10PM, I succeeded 5/7 nights. I take this as a win because I have until the end of August to adjust my time every few nights until I get to 10PM. I read in bed before I go to sleep, so when I can no longer read my book, that is my lights out cue. The key is getting into my bed no later than 9:30 PM which is where the pre-sleep ritual will help me. However, my pre-sleep ritual cannot include devices (mainly my phone) or overly stimulating activities.

• Monday: 10:00 PM
• Tuesday: 9:22 PM
• Wednesday: 10:06 PM
• Thursday: 9:30PM
• Friday: 10:50 PM (concert)
• Saturday: 9:54 PM
• Sunday: 9:35 PM

As for being awake by 5AM each morning, I am making slow progress getting there, but I am consistently waking up and getting up when my alarm goes off in the mornings. I am extremely proud of my first week because I have been struggling with getting up consistently in the mornings. Like my bedtime, I have until the end of August to adjust my time every few mornings until I get to 5AM. I admit that it was not easy, especially Saturday morning after going to bed at 10:50 after going to a concert. I will say that not drinking any alcohol at dinner or at the concert also helped me not linger in bed Saturday morning. Additionally, I exercised every morning (BODI program: Monday-Friday; Walk: Saturday and Sunday).

• Monday: 6:00 AM
• Tuesday: 5:50 AM
• Wednesday: 5:50 AM
• Thursday: 5:45 AM
• Friday: 5:45 AM
• Saturday: 5:45 AM
• Sunday: 5:45 AM

As for keeping a record of my daily routine throughout August, I did well this week with this goal. I guess I should specify that I am focusing mainly on my Monday through Thursday schedule which I am treating like a work schedule. Friday will be treated like a day off for appointments, errands, etc. If I have an appointment or errand on another day during the week, I swap that day’s schedule with Friday. I am hoping by the end of the month, my weekly schedule at home will have a solid structure with built-in flexibility. I have created a potential schedule that I have been experimenting with to see what works and what does not. The ultimate goal is to be more intentional with my time.

Potential Schedule (Monday-Thursday)

• 5:45 AM: Wake Up/Dogs & Ice Cream Bar/Exercise *
• 7:00 AM: Shower/Dress/Breakfast/Unload dishwasher
• 8:00 AM: Updates (goals/habits journal; Kat’s FB group; social media)
• 9:00AM -12:00 PM: Focus Session *
• 12:00 PM: Lunch Break
• 1:00-3:00 PM: Chores/Feed dogs
• 3:00-4:30 PM: Administrative Tasks *
• 4:30-6:00 PM: Dinner/Clean kitchen
• 6:00-8:30 PM: Hobbies/Family time/Evening walk
• 8:30-9:00 PM: Dogs & Ice Cream Bar/Shower/PJs
• 9:00-10:00 PM: Exercise clothes out for next day/Read/Sleep by 10PM

I like the structure of the schedule which I think is a solid framework for the day. If you notice, I have an asterisk by three sections of the schedule. The first asterisk is when I wake up in the morning to start my day. By the end of August, I want to be waking up at 5AM. Technically, that will be my daily wake up time (Monday-Sunday) because I want to exercise in the morning. The second asterisk is when I want to focus on planning, writing, or filming content (Youtube/Blog/Book Reviews); learning a new skill or activity through reading, watching videos, or taking a course; or researching products, healthy recipes, or information for my family, etc. Sometimes, I host Focus Sessions on my YouTube channel for additional support and accountability from my amazing online community. The third asterisk is when I want to work on administrative tasks like email, responding to comments on social media, marketing on social media, phone calls, written correspondence, etc. Even though the schedule is structured, there is plenty of flexibility when it comes to how I will be spending my time.

As for taking two capsules of Magnesium Glycinate at 9PM nightly, I was successful 5/7 nights. I actually took the two capsules by 8:30 pm. I noticed on the nights that I took the Magnesium Glycinate, I got sleepy about an hour after taking it and fell asleep quickly. However, my sleep seemed more fractured. I woke up more often.

As for setting out clothes for my morning workout, I was successful 7/7 nights. Gold star for me! This one habit has been a game changer and really has helped me wake up after getting out of bed. I also brush my teeth, wash my face, and do some light stretching after I am dressed. This one adjustment has really added to my happiness.

This second week of the challenge, I will continue experimenting with my pre-sleep ritual. My daily routine will be totally different this week since I am volunteering at the Scholastic Book Fair at HGCS (Tuesday-Thursday) and the FOTL Sale (Friday). This schedule will also affect me exercising in the morning. I will continue setting out my workout clothes; however, with me volunteering the rest of the week, the odds of me having enough time getting up at 5:45 AM to exercise and complete the rest of my morning routine before heading out the door is slim to none. My expectation for Tuesday-Friday is that my daily walk in the evening will count for my daily workout. I am not going to stress myself out about it. I will continue adjusting my wake up time with the hope of waking up at 5:30 AM by the end of this week. I will continue striving to be asleep by 10:00 PM (although it is currently 10:25, and I am still working on this blog post). HA! I have decided to not take the Magnesium Glycinate this week. Instead, I want to do some more research on the supplement. It will be a fun but challenging week; however, I am up for both the fun and the challenge. Happiness!

“Over time, as the daily routines become second nature, discipline morphs into habit.” ~ Twyla Tharp

Note: Photo above is by Pu00e9ter Ku00f6vesi on Pexels.com.