on the right foot

better beginning
admittedly, i’m starting off the week a little bit sleep deprived. this is due to the classic rookie mistake of sleeping in on sunday AM and then NOT being able to abide by my early bedtime come night.

however, i’m still in good spirits! i know i’m in a better position to begin the week than i was last monday. transitioning from nights –> days apparently took a harder toll than i expected, but i think i’ve finally gotten my rhythms straight.

i also got a chance to really regroup last night — clean up my surroundings, sift through emails, plan the upcoming week and (most importantly) take stock of the little stressors which have been creeping up and distracting/annoying/horrifying me every-so-often during the course of each day.

there is nothing more draining than reminding yourself of all the things you need to do all day long. and for me, the best (perhaps only?) cure for this is to write it all down.

ahhhhhhhhh that felt good.
even better than a list like the above is an actual plan. but even just having everything written out helps me so much! it’s as if now i know i won’t ‘forget’ about these things, so i won’t have to rehash the obligations all day long.

one day/one thing at a time . . .
in addition to checking off life’s boxes (above), i need to spend some quality time with the projects listed each night. i just have to keep reminding myself that it will be 10,000 times more pleasant, effective, and healthier for my HPA axis to get things done on a gradual basis rather than to be cramming in everything at the zero hour.

taking care
last week’s winning combination (or not) of a pared-down workout schedule and haphazard eating habits took its toll. my skin seems to have borne the brunt of it — OMG, how old am i, 16?? i am SO ready to take good care of myself again! this means:

♥ getting enough sleep
♥ working out
♥ eating well (last week was really quite impressively unbalanced)
♥ going back to my skin care routine (+ bonus benzoyl peroxide)
♥ not stressing out over every.little.thing

from past experiences, i imagine that the last item will come naturally as the rest fall into place.

Q&A of the day
from the anonymous portal coffers:

“i’ve always wondered . . . how on earth do you get motivated to get up so early?!“

honestly, part of it is that i just think i’m a morning person. it has always been easier for me to get up early than it is for me to try to stay up late (yeah, i’m THAT much fun at parties).

the other part is that from experience i know that i am so much happier when i get in a run/workout in the AM. i also love starting my morning out with coffee, breakfast, and writing (yes, as in this post)! therefore, these things dictate when i set my alarm. maybe i’ve conditioned myself with these “rewards”?

what time do you get up? and what gets you out of bed in the AM?

——————————————————————————-

2.14.10

workout: 8 miles on the treadmill, 0.5% incline. speeds from 8:41/mi to 9:13/mi. extra challenging because my iPod died 5 minutes in!

back to basics: this week’s culinary theme is going to be simple and resourceful. i am going to forgo the usual giant whole foods trip and work on using up some of what we’ve got! last night’s dinner was no gourmet bonanza, but it did the trick:

local arugula salad with apricots, walnuts, and homemade fig vinaigrette; amy’s spinach pocket (baked rather than microwaved = 10 times better!)