Wednesday, June 1, 2016

June 1st, 2016 Some Changes

June 1st, 2016 Some Changes

Yesterday was difficult. I woke with a general dizziness after too little sleep, again. What will it take for me to start taking my sleep seriously? I can't count how many times I've been advised by support connections, colleagues, readers of this blog and more, about how important it is to get enough rest. So what does it take to get my attention? A morning like yesterday and a trip to the doctor's office.

The doctor was able to get me in last minute, right before lunch--and everything--the numbers, the vitals--everything turned out fine. I described my symptoms and that's when he starting asking questions about my schedule and my caffeine habits. Oh dear, here we go. 

Doc smiled real big, leaned in and said, "Sean, you're exhausted." 

 Okay then, that was it.

 He advised no caffeine after 3pm. If I enjoy a cup of coffee it needs to be decaffeinated. His explanation of the dizziness was exhaustion mixed with too much caffeine. I've been sending my body mixed signals. Stay awake, but you need sleep, but be alert, rest, rest... 

It's not that I do more than I can handle. There's plenty of people that accomplish much much more than I accomplish each day. It's not what I'm doing, it's the schedule I'm keeping while doing what I do.

I'll never forget being asked nearly two years ago, If I tweeted everything else, why not the water? I hadn't been including the water. My answer was flat honest. "Because I don't want to be accountable for the water. If I embrace water accountability, that means I'll have to do it--and some days, maybe I don't want to drink that much water." Never mind that it does wonders for the metabolism, the organs and just everything positive. I realized at that moment, I needed the accountability. The water would help me tremendously. So I set the minimum goal each day and I started tweeting every ounce. That was almost two years ago and I can count on one hand how many times I've fallen short of 64oz. It worked.

And now I'm doing the same thing with sleep. 

My sleep schedule must be this important.

I'll write more about it later. The first step I'm taking is moving my blog writing schedule to afternoons. This is the first edition to be posted this early. The Tweets, instead of starting with the morning Tweets, will start each day with the evening and into the next day. This one move will prevent me from staying up too late to write my blog post. It's still daily, it's simply posted at a brand new time!

I'll write more about this new sleep importance level in my next edition.  I will tell you this-- my goodness, I felt great today. I mean absolutely fantastic!! A full seven hours sleep made all the difference in the world. Night and day difference. 

No caffeine after 3pm and a different blogging schedule. That's the start of much more structured and productive times for me.

The Live-Tweet Stream:


























Reminder: The rest of today's Live-Tweet Stream will pick up here in tomorrow's edition.
Thank you for reading and your continued support,
Strength,
Sean
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7 comments:

  1. dupsterJune 1, 2016 at 6:10 PM

    What a great idea Sean. This blog keeps you accountable and dedicated to your prescribed program, one you created yourself and one that is working! I think it can only help in making it a priority, to blog about your sleep as well. I too was sleep-deprived (maybe not to the extent you are), for over 40 years, raising three boys and working full-time. But in retirement, I feel like I have earned the right to get as much sleep as I want. Some nights that might be only five and a half hours, sometimes it is eight or more hours, and I'm okay with that, because when I'm not tired anymore, I get up in the morning, whatever time that happens to be. No more alarm clock! After 40 years of being a slave to that clock, I feel entitled, and not at all guilty for sleeping in, if I can. I prefer to stay on a decent schedule, but no longer it is absolutely necessary that I am in bed by 10, so that I can be up by 6 (which never really happened anyway). I have read that lack of enough sleep can lead to obesity, so perhaps getting more of the precious commodity of sleep will even help you in your maintenance efforts Sean. It's going to be interesting to read about how you are doing with this newest priority you are setting for yourself. I know your job is the main reason for your crazy schedule, and there's not much you can do about tornado season in Oklahoma--so GOOD LUCK!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. LilleypadJune 2, 2016 at 2:07 AM

    Hmmm, maybe a Tweet of your alarm clock @ bedtime /waking would provide that next level of accountability...or, better yet...if you are into fitbit (or other tracking), a sleep log could be shown. My fitbit shows how long to get to sleep, number of restlees time, etc

    Sleep sweet, and now I guess I can now go to bed earlier since I no longer will be waiting for your blog to posted.🛌

    ReplyDelete
  3. #fatfreefloozyJune 2, 2016 at 4:03 AM

    Sleep is important and I, like you, have such a massively tightly packed schedule that I get super exhausted! I really need to make it a priority too - I'm just not sure what to take out to fit sleep in!

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousJune 2, 2016 at 6:20 AM

    I love that you are willing to change it up to accomplish your goals. I need to take a page from your book :o)

    ReplyDelete
  5. CaronJune 2, 2016 at 10:30 AM

    Loud applause from the peanut gallery! Great move for you as sleep is SO important. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Kim HalseyJune 2, 2016 at 5:30 PM

    So happy Sean to see you making sleep a self-care priority. Once you get through detox it will be much easier!

    ReplyDelete
  7. KarenJune 3, 2016 at 7:43 AM

    Sleep before social media, always! Glad you are prioritizing you. It's important to get your own priorities down before helping others.

    It will also keep your health care bills down, too. Very important in personal finances. Onward with a focus on the new normal.

    ReplyDelete

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