A New Life

Hey there!

Lots of changes have been happening in my world—I’m not ready to talk about everything quite yet, but some I’m ready to shout from the rooftops!

Monday marked my first day NOT working during the day. I was sure I would feel some sort of regret about leaving a job, that I did not love but that has yet to happen. I’m pretty proud of myself, actually. It took a TON of courage to quit, but I am so very happy that I did.

That being said, I have quite a bit of free time these days. I’m working about four nights a week as a server, but my days are very open. Because I have a history with depressive tendencies (I’m hesitant to say full on depression), I’ve set some rules for myself so I maintain structure and productivity in my life. The truth is that I could easily sit on the couch and watch reruns of Las Vegas on TNT and get sucked back into Days of Our Lives. Yes, I said “back”…another story for another day.

1. Maintain a reasonable bed time and wake time.

(One of my favorite morning shots, courtesy of Tom Panko.)

This is pretty easy for me to do because I love the morning. My natural alarm clock never lets me sleep later than 8:00 or 8:30, but I’ve been getting up these last few mornings at 7:30. Oh, and I’m usually falling asleep on the couch by 10:00 pm, like the elderly lady I am, so don’t expect me to turn into any kind of night owl now that I don’t technically HAVE to get up in the morning.

2. Stay away from the TV during the day.

I plan on enjoying a day here or there enjoying some quality couch time—everyone deserves this kind of relaxation once and a while. But, I know myself. I know if I put that television on during the middle of the day, all productivity will be completely over. So, you’ll find me watching some of the Today show in the morning and then shutting the tube OFF. We have an IPod speaker system, so I have Pandora wired up on speakers, it does the trick just as well. Now if only Pandora could come up with some sort of stream for this…

3. Making a List for everything.

My list from yesterday has kind of run into today as well…some of the things require loose ends get tied up. Simply, write it down, do it, check it off, feel accomplished. Nothing makes staying on task easier than an old fashioned list.

4. Shower.

Yes, I have to say it. No one likes a girl who lays around on the couch all day while watching Days of Our Lives..especially one who doesn’t bathe.

Do you spend days at home? What are your tips for maintaining mental sanity? I’m sure I’ll be needing them!