![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Inspired by a post from Jessica...
My life currently has:
- Work
- Fitness
- Square dance calling
- Friends and loved ones
- C4 (study/practice)
With this lineup, it seems that my life is too full. I'm chronically stressed and sleep-deprived. But I sure don't want to cut back on any of this! I need to earn a living, I have commitments to various calling endeavors (not to mention to Rob), and the rest I WANT to do! I really oughta add some time for meditation in there, too.
How do people do it? I know folks from work who do regular physical workouts, have a good relationship with a spouse, and have CHILDREN! How come I am having trouble with just the little I've got on my plate?
My life currently has:
- Work
- Fitness
- Square dance calling
- Friends and loved ones
- C4 (study/practice)
With this lineup, it seems that my life is too full. I'm chronically stressed and sleep-deprived. But I sure don't want to cut back on any of this! I need to earn a living, I have commitments to various calling endeavors (not to mention to Rob), and the rest I WANT to do! I really oughta add some time for meditation in there, too.
How do people do it? I know folks from work who do regular physical workouts, have a good relationship with a spouse, and have CHILDREN! How come I am having trouble with just the little I've got on my plate?
no subject
Put another way, if I throw 100% of myself into every commitment, there isn't anything left for item #2 on the list.
I sometimes have a hard time distinguishing 'good enough' from 'perfect'.
no subject
I think another is that I procrastinate, often wasting many times the amount of energy on a task than it would really have required to just do it.
*sigh* Growth is hard! Growth takes too long! waaaah! [stamping my foot]
no subject
While I understand that you don't want to cut back, you might find that you have to. Could you dance every other week?
I don't know the specific answers for you. When I was a physics grad student I spent a lot of time at the classroom and the lab, while giving short shrift to my wife and daughters. It was what I had to do to get where I was going, but I also got away from that situation as soon as I could.
Time management helps. So does having a metabolism that only requires 6 hours of sleep a night. Even with both those things, I feel pretty worn out at times too.
no subject
Yes, most of it every week. Workouts supposedly five to six per week, although I'm currently not doing them at all since being sick. Calling once a week plus random whole-weekend events. C4 practice sessions a little more than once every two weeks. Maybe I'm spending too much time on LJ :-)
Time management helps. So does having a metabolism that only requires 6 hours of sleep a night. Even with both those things, I feel pretty worn out at times too.
Yeow, I want your metabolism! 8-} I function best with eight and a half, am using eleven right now post-illness (counting significant time spent in bed awake and coughing). I can do six, or even four, for extended periods of time but I am definitely not at my best if I do that. I get really stoooopid.
Re: Yeow, I want your metabolism!
More seriously though, if you can manage x nights with 6 hours of sleep provided you get y nights with 9 hours of sleep after that, how about planning that way?
no subject
Hardly little, CJ. I'm guessing your schedule
is busier than mine, and mine is often a target
for other folks amusement as an overly crowded,
crazy bit of scheduling. Now, being an old fart,
perhaps folks just expect less from me *grin*,
but seriously, I'm not sure I'd call your plate
particularly lightweight.
no subject
no subject
Definitely! But note: As you saw in her post, it's not something that doesn't cause a certain amount of stress.
no subject
Definitely! But note: As you saw in her post, it's not something that doesn't cause a certain amount of stress. .
A couple of things...yes, I have a lot on my plate, but as a result a lot of "normal" things slide. I am perpetually behind on housework and basic bookkeeping. I have been planning on transferring clothes to a new functional dresser since November and still have not gotten around to it. I also currently have a job which is fairly stress-free--when I had a much more stressful job I didn't handle as much as well. Yeah I do a lot, but other things get shoved to the side.
To a certain degree I have been conditioned to have this much on my plate. When I was a little kid my parents had me in several sports/activities. When I was in high school I was a competitive swimmer which meant mornings, weekends, and evenings were devoted to that. I had a huge school work-load in addition and I always had a boyfriend or two. In college I carried 15-17 semester units and worked 25-30 hours a week, and spent time at the gym and had boyfriends. But I was, and remain, one of the least organized people you will ever meet. If I manage to show up for a test with a functional writing utensil I am feeling pretty good. I once showed up to a final in grad school an hour late (I still managed to get an A on it and the class). So, part of me having a lot going on is a result of me being able to get away with being so disorganized and still functioning well--That is not a value statement, it just is what it is. FWIW, my disorganization drives my parents batty.
And yes, having as much going on as I currently do can really, really stress me out and result in things like paralyzing migraines and minor freak-outs. What's funny (in a strange way) is that I don't feel like I am doing much and often feel like I am lazy slug (seriously). I have a bit of a compulsion about being active and busy (obvisouly). I look at people busier than I and think, "why can't I handle that?". Having kids scares the shit out of me because I am afraid I won't be able to handle the work-load.
OK, must stop rambling now :-)
no subject