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
The Kat Files 