Burning The Midnight Oil | Giftie Etcetera: Burning The Midnight Oil

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Burning The Midnight Oil

The meds that I take for my asthma keep me awake. In the past two days, I've written about 10,000 words, gotten so much checked off on my task list, and been incredibly productive.

I would trade it all for sleep.

Also, none of what I am doing is laundry or housework, since those things trigger my asthma attacks. So my house is still a mess.

How do you cope with rearranged (or nonexistent) sleep schedules or disorganized areas in the home? Do they make you anxious? Or is that just my own OCD?

Etcetera.

5 comments:

Christine Cortese said...

I want those asthma meds! Ha. 10,000 words in 2 days? Wow. And your housework hiatus is obviously a gift. Enjoy your productivity!

paperscribe said...

What is your Plan B? Develop a written action plan for periods such as this, discuss it with your loved ones and review it regularly: prioritize a must-do task list (be ruthless here with an assessment of true minimum standards) with the emphasis on the healthy functioning of you and your household and not on outside or OCD expectations; evaluate your pantry and design and maintain an inventory for stock of canned soups and make-ahead meals and other items that are simple to heat and serve; create a list of outside helpers to help in a pinch (you must budget for them), i.e. housecleaning services, grocery delivery, a teenager or college student that can be hired to come in and do an afternoon of laundry. Think autopilot.

Years of caring for a special needs child has taught me the importance and comfort of contingency planning. Hope you feel better soon :)

paperscribe said...
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Unknown said...

Oh, that is tough - I have had many experiences in the past couple years that have ended in sleepless nights.

Something you might try - which would probably help asthma, too, is meditation. It's not the "hey, man, like, I'm zenned out" that some people think. It's a great way to calm your mind, which will calm your body and make sleep more possible.

It can also help creativity - you are not thinking about how tired you are, or all the stuff you cannot get done (laundry, cleaning, etc)you start getting ideas for new things and solve problems that have been needing some ideas for a long time.

Look for "mindfulness based stress reduction" or "mindfulness meditation training". If you take a few minutes out each day, and persist, you will start seeing very subtle shifts - you may not get angry as fast, or you may become a better planner or organizer.... without being stressed about it or getting better because something negative is breathing down your neck. I have more info if you want to email separately. It has been both a life-saver and marriage-saver for me. :)

Unknown said...

One more thing - is there any way you can get assistance with the laundry and some housework while you are at work-work? Then the odors/dust/etc would be dissapated by the time you got home?