Falling off the wagon into a pit of pillows

I've been turning my alarm OFF. Not just snoozing, but turning it OFF! I sleep in. I love it. I've got a stressful bit of stuff happening at work... sleep is my therapy. Is that an excuse? No. I'm just lazy and I can't handle life so I try to sleep through it when I can. Is that the truth? Oh my.

I love the bed. I love to sleep.

On a positive note, we are getting some light-filtering shades for the bedroom so that the morning light will come in. Right now I have a doubled up, very thick, flannel sheet (artfully arranged). It blocks most of the light and makes it so I think it's still nighty-night time when in fact, it's well past 6:08 am.

Okay, this is my first night blog. I'm staying up too late trying to finish up a few work-related items. Lame? Sort of. The sad thing is, I'm getting a response from about half the e-mails I"m sending so I have company. Off to bed. My husband is waiting for me, probably annoyed that my low-paying job is taking precedence over our personal goals once again.

Sleeping with the shades up

I like light to filter in through my room in the morning, my husband likes it dark. Since he's out of town, I can do whatever I want. So I leave the curtains up in the bedroom and when I wake up, there's a sunny world outside greeting me and saying "Hey, lazy - it's beautiful outside, get out of bed!" We'll soon solve this challenge by purchasing some of those light filtering honeycomb blinds. That way, no one can see in at night (there's no one out there except the trees anyhow) and the light will filter through in the morning. Although I really like to look out and see trees, sun, sky, birds, etc.

Had a wacky dream last night. I was hanging out with a friend in his University-area apartment and he rented his couches and floor space to commuter students for naps. So when we get there, we have to step over the students who are napping on the carpet and couches.

I also was dreaming when I first looked outside because I remember seeing this ugly area of our yard transformed with some killer landscaping. Alas, it hasn't happened that way yet, but it gave me some good ideas....

Hey, mon, gotta get to work painting the livingroom!

Day 13

I'd rather be sleeping. I'm not feeling more productive. There's more to work on. I got up when I was supposed to buy my eyes feel like pillows and I'm a zombie. I've been doing laundry, but maybe I'll read for a little bit.

We went to a seminar yesterday called "Can Small Towns Be Cool?" It was an interesting presentation by a man from Michigan State University. He visited 250 towns in the Midwest and interviewed folks in the towns, visited their cultural assets, observed the city politics. He found that the people in towns who were most cooperative and found the most information/energy sharing were likely to have a cultural asset which was homegrown and authentic.

Organic projects, rooted in the communities strengths were likely successes.

So, can my town be cool? I think so.

Day 12

So I was really confused about my alarm this morning. I wasn't sure what "that noise" was. It couldn't possibly be my alarm... I was just half in dreamland.

I'm really tired this morning. We had dinner with friends last night, drank wine, ate lots of excellent food. Even thought I went to bed around 10:30 or so, I'm very sleepy.

This weekend, I wasted a bunch of time. I couldn't quite get it together to actually clean anything or do a big project. So, for 48 hours I sort of wandered around and putzed. Which is a big bummer, because our house is totally trashed. So, over the next week I'm going to be cleaning it in the morning before I get ready for work. I think this will help me feel like there's more time in the day.

Have to go wake up the husband...

Day 11

Oh, my will is flagging... Sleeping is soooo nice. Sleeping means I don't have to do anything else. Sleeping is escape.

Day 9 & 10

So it's kind of like cheating on a diet, I guess, although I'm not one to diet. But I can imagine what it must be like.

Yesterday, I didn't blog and I also didn't get up at 6:08 am. I slept in, hit snooze, and just about fell off the wagon. My husband and I were carpooling yesterday, so I just got up when his alarm went off a little while later.

Then, last night I drank way more alcohol than I thought I did... Sapient Ale from Dark Horse Brewery in Marshall, MI is crazy stuff! Before that we had Chinese food (Kai Garden) and then went for martinis. I didn't feel drunk last night (good thing I didn't try to drive home!) but I must have been pretty drunk last night based on how I feel this morning.

I got myself out of bed without knowing what time it was at 7:30 am. After going to bed well after midnight, I'm surprised I was able to manage it. It's a beautiful sunny day, it's going to be great for playing outside.

Day 8 - I snoozed!

I fell asleed on the couch last night around 9:00 or so. I was reading the previous year's arts grant application from the nonprofit I manage. Boring grant language and a glass of beer is a surefire way to get me to sleep. Once I managed to head upstairs around 2:30 am, I couldn't fall back asleep. Once my alarm went off at 6:08 am, I hit the snooze button. The first time I've done it, but I think it's okay. I just can't make it a habit.

I'd rather be sleeping right now.

Yesterday, I attended a rally to protest cutting of arts funding in my state. It sounds like the house is trying to restore the funding and they just need to get this new version of the budget past the Senate. I testified in front of the House Appropriations SubCommittee on History Arts and Libraries as to the importance of funding the arts.

Day 7

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwn.
Almost hit the snooze button, almost. Today is not a day where I could sleep in, even if I wanted to. I'm heading to a rally at the state capital to protest a HUGE cut in arts funding. Being picked up at 7:30 am by a pal. It'll take about an hour to get there.

Gotta go get ready to protest in my "business casual."

Day 6

I did it again! I am somewhat surprised by the easy success I've had. Okay, it's not easy. In fact, I want to sleep in more than anything. The one thing I've found that I miss most is hitting the snooze button - but I know that's the end of me. If sleeping Aubrey gets to make the decisions (as she has been for the past many years) I'll never get out of bed.

My husband tried getting up early today - set his alarm for 6:05 am. Mine is set for 6:08 am. So, his alarm went off; it was sort of like a snooze button.

On my mind today: laundry, kitchen, organize papers, the fund raiser looming on the horizon for the cash-strapped organization I manage (and my future career path and exit strategy).

Day 5 - I'd rather be sleeping

I find that since I have all of this pressure of getting out of bed immediately when my alarm goes off, that I am wake up around 3 and 4:00 am thinking about getting out of bed and what I'm going to do.

Before I go to bed at night, I think of some important (relatively) task that I want to complete. The first day I did this, I wanted to go through my weeks-old notes from work that I'd been neglecting. Today, it's laundry. Plus, I am committed to writing in this blog.

Although I'm actually amazed with my newfound ability to get out of bed when my alarm goes off, I feel a deep nostalgia for hitting that snooze button, it's as if I'm losing a part of my identity - the oversleeping - and am finding a new person that has been hidden - the-get-up-early-get-shit-done-girl.

Oversleeping has been something I've done for a loooooong time. I developed my excellent oversleeping abilities at a young age. Probably late-elementary school. My mother would try to wake me up, and I'd sleep right through her pleas: "Get up," "You're going to be late," "I'm leaving without you," "Get up!!!

In college, I'd sleep through my 9am art history class. When I did make it on time, my professor looked as if she had just rolled out of bed as well, so I think she was sympathetic. Although, truthfully, if I suspect sympathy, I'll take advantage of it.

Now that I'm almost 28 years old, I figure it's time to get the hell out of bed and get some shit done. Which is why I need to get back to my laundry, my tea, and starting my day! And it's 6:31 am right now - AMAZING!!

Day 4 - Lazy

8:30 am.

blah!

Day 3 - FAILURE!!

I forgot that my cell phone alarm clock is set for Monday - Friday. Being that it's Saturday... I slept in until 9:45 am. I did wake up at 4 and 5 in the morning to look at my clock. I was THINKING about getting up. Then at 7:00, when I realized that I had overslept I THOUGHT about getting up. See where thinking gets me?

I did stay up late last night, too.

It's a bummer b/c I have a busy day today and was planning on doing some chores before I had to leave the house.

Blah. I'll try it tomorrow.

Day 2 Post 2

I just want to clarify something right away. I don't think anyone will read this. I just want a way to track my progress of getting out of bed and getting shit done. Blogging first thing every morning gives me a specific task to do and it will track my daily progress. I also like the font and the format - much better than a MS Word document - boring!

Day 2

Okay - today was great! My alarm went off and I got RIGHT out of bed, despite the fact that I went to bed at midnight and my husband tried to keep me up later than that.

Pretty good. I was going to blog first thing, but I was distracted by an e-mail from a friend. I really appreciate this article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/05/AR2007040501976.html

By the way, the reason I'm doing this is because I have a job which is slightly consuming. I manage a small arts-related nonprofit in a state where the economy is truly tanking. I'm feeling a tad bit ineffective at home and at work. There's never enough time for anything... Part of the problem is that I have a sleeping problem. I loooooove to sleep. I excel at sleeping. Sleeping feels great. I have been sleeping until 8:00, 8:30, sometimes even 9:00!

I should be to work by 8:30 or 9:00 am, just to get a jump on things. However, I've been getting there anywhere between 9:30 and 11:00 am. Because I get there a bit late, I stay late. Because I stay late, I get home late. Because I get home late I have an annoyed husband and feel like the world is piling up around me.

Yesterday was different - I got out of bed (well, I almost didn't!) 8 minutes after my alarm went off. I was really close to sleeping in. But, I brought home my piles from my desk at work. I decided that it was a good incentive to go through, because I knew there were things in the pile that couldn't be ignored but I wouldn't have time to do this once I got to work. So, I got up, made some tea, started the computer, posted, and then worked the morning away. Since it's spring break at work (meaning no classes, I still have to work), I could go in at 11:00 am. But this time, I had already worked for 4 hours!

Oh, I like to dream, too. Last night I dreamed (is this the right word?) *** beginning of dream *** that I was back in my hometown (which is only 35 minutes from where I currently live). We gave someone's little brother a pack of Kool's we had found. He mentioned in a conversation that Kools were like currency at his high school. We had found an random pack months ago (in real life) and gave it to him (in my dream). Empowering moment for the young lad.

Then, I was visiting the fire hall in my hometown (which wasn't really my home town) to see what they were up to. My former best friends dad and brother were cleaning the floors. It was a huge mess, but you could tell these two guys were, like, reforming the place. They even went so far as to strip and refinish the wood floors of the fire house. I checked their progress as my dream progressed. *** End of dream ***

Lots to do!

Onward....

Day 1

Okay - this is good. I set my alarm for 6:08 am. There was a definite internal struggle this morning. I was very close to sleeping in - but I did it!

Why I got up early this morning: I'm falling behind on little details at work. I grabbed all of the random papers on my desk, brought them home, and am going to go through them this morning. I feel that my job takes up my entire life, but perhaps it's because there's not much left of my life after work - because I sleep too much.

Last night, I read a personal productivity blog which was pretty inspiring. Here's the link: http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/

"Hey, mon - gotta go to work!"

Goals

I have some simple goals:
1. sleep less
2. get more done
3. cultivate my self-discipline
4. stop being such a whiner

Let's see how I do!