Monday, August 11, 2014

August 11, 2014

I was talking with a friend about people and I said if someone was unhappy with where they are in their life, why don't they just write the script they want to live. Oh, wait...

Get up late, rush around, drive to work, arrive late, deal with ennui by telling myself I'm tired, sit on my ass all day in front of a computer, eat lunch out every day, drive home, flop on the couch, sit on my ass all night in front of the TV, eat junk for dinner, go to bed, sleep badly, get up late...

So the paragraph above is my day to day life in a nutshell. No wonder it's not working for me. It's the road-map of the life I don't want anymore. It's time to write the script of the life I want to live.  Here's my new road-map:

Get up on-time. When I do this, I have time to do my twenty minute yoga stretch in the morning. That always starts my day in a better place. And I don't have to rush around like a crazy person trying to throw myself together to get out the door.

Drive to work on-time. When I do this, I can have a much more relaxed drive to work and I'm won't already be stressed when I arrive at work. On time. And I won't have to tell myself I'm tired as an excuse for being late, feeling stressed, which puts me in a place of ennui.

Get up and move around at work. I set my Outlook reminder to pop up every 15 minutes. It says 'Get up.' And I do. Sometimes I walk around the office, sometimes I just stand up and stretch. It's too easy to sit at a computer and never move. I've been doing that for many years and by the end of the day, I'm in so much pain. By getting up every 15 minutes and stretching or moving around, I feel much better.

Eat better.  I was eating a muffin and a cup of coffee for breakfast. Carbs and caffeine, the super-woman breakfast. Now, I have a hard-boiled egg and 2 small strips of bacon. Protein and a little fat. I will add some fresh fruit to this but I'm still having coffee. And for at least a year now, I've been eating lunch out. Part of it is being lazy (I haven't been cooking at all) part of it is a desire to get out of the office.  But eating out every day means that going out to eat is nothing special, it's just another thing that I do. Plus it's expensive and fattening. Even when I eat healthy, the mega-size meals that most places serve is just too much food. So now, I'm making my lunch every day. This week, it will be sandwiches. Toasted whole-grain bread, sliced turkey, one slice of cheese, tomato, avocado, pickle and mustard with water to drink.  Tonight, I will have left-over vegan Mexican food from Sunday brunch; tomorrow, I will cook some chicken and brown rice for the week and have it for dinner every night with a different vegetable.  Easy to do and easy to eat.

Drive home. The drive home has heavier traffic. I'm practicing sitting back in my car, relaxed as I navigate my way home. I have found that I still get home in the same amount of time as when I get in a hurry and speed. I'll let others be tense and rushed.

Get home, change into my workout clothes, put on one of my dvd exercise videos and go to town. Since it's summertime and hot, I can also go for a swim after my workout. That will feel great.  Then a shower, dinner, maybe a little TV if there's something specific I want to watch.  Then bed at a decent hour.

This is my new road-map, my script to how I want my life to be. Two things I already know: if I get out of bed on time, my day will flow a lot smoother because I won't be rushed from the time I get up. And also, if for some reason I don't/can't adhere to the new map, that doesn't mean I should chuck it all and give up. It's just a slight detour. I can see it as a disaster or an adventure.  Adventures are more fun.

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