I am joining with Boondock Ramblings for this Sunday Bookends. I’ve not been posting regularly in the month of January (how is January over already?!?) and I have missed reading what others are doing and enjoying! So, I’m back and I’m going to try to prioritize the blog more in the month of February, which is looking to be the busiest of the year yet again for me. If I can regularly blog in February, I can regularly blog in any month! But, let’s focus on today’s bookend!
What’s been occurring
First, LOTS OF WORKING!!
This last week kicked off the Spring semester at my second campus. So, I’m teaching there in the morning Monday through Thursday, then go to my main campus every day of the week. My mind has felt like mush for the most part. I’ve not been sleeping well this week to add insult to injury. My daughter is now doing PAID work at her after school program (she was doing it for a class in the Fall, learning on the job) which is great, but also means she stays until 5:45 or 6 pm each day. So, I stay at work until 5:30 pm and then go pick her up. It is a looooong day – 8 am class Monday through Thursday, 8:30 am work at main campus Friday and staying until 5:30 pm every day. I need to adjust and this week did not do that for me.
I also think my mind is mush because I’ve constantly been shifting my focus. I teach from 8 – 9:15 am on Monday through Thursday on my second campus. I will USUALLY have a break when I can focus on grading and class prep after that and then teach again at my other campus at 11 am Monday, Wednesday and Friday. So, morning = teaching time. Then, I will go to my First-Year Experience (FYE) job in the afternoons from 12 – 5 pm. BUT, this week, I had a meeting at 10 am on my main campus on Monday and then decided to go to my office before that 11 am class on Wednesday as well because our new Admin Assistant is only in our office on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and I wanted some time with him. I CAN NOT do this on the regular though! I need to have a focus – at least half a day. So, I will NOT go to my FYE office until Noon on Monday and Wednesday and will just focus on FYE for the afternoon. I think that will help a lot. Lesson learned.
Sleep Issues
I have had ongoing sleep issues for years. I am lucky if I can average over 6 hours a night. My sleep patterns are totally unpredictable. This past week I had a 5 hour 30 minute average, including one day that I only slept 2.5 hours!?!? The week before, my average was only 5 hours 37 minutes. It isn’t enough for what I do on the daily. I know that. And I think I probably need to give up caffeine after a certain hour of the day. I have horrible afternoon slumps almost every day between 2 pm and 5 pm. I can keep my energy up for teaching and if I have meetings, but when I get a slow time or when I get home in the evening, I am DONE. Which means my house goes to hell every week and I often eat crappy, fast food instead of a good home-cooked meal. It is a vicious cycle.
If anyone has incredible advice for this, I would love to hear it. I can’t do HRT because of blood pressure issues and some genetic history of cancer in my immediate family. The doctor offered to put me on anti-depressants as a way of dealing with the sleep issues, but I really, really would like to remain med-free as long as possible. So, natural solutions would be great. I do take Magnesium Theronate most nights. I take Vitamin D. I take pre- and pro-biotics. I also have magnesium spray with lavendar. And I do sleep BETTER than I used to (higher sleep score) even if the length hasn’t changed. But, I feel like I really need to be hitting 7 hours a night regularly to keep up with my life.
Reading
Still working on The Maid’s Secret by Nita Prose. I have also read a number of reports on the needs of First-Year students. I need to read more regularly. Maybe I should start doing that before sleeping instead of playing Candy Crush. I can do anything for a short month!
Watching
Well, I’ve definitely been watching a lot of Murder She Wrote! It is my go-to show when I have a lot to do because I don’t have to pay attention to it to know what is happening. But, I also watched a great PBS special from 2020 on Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, the first episode of Veronica Mars which I somehow have never watched. It was definitely intriguing, so that may be my new show to go to when I want to actually pay attention to something.
Writing
Lesson plans for my classes, finishing up syllabi, and journaling.
Listening To
I have been binge listening to Cabot Coverage in the car. I should be listening to a book instead. I will start doing that tomorrow. That will help me boost my reading game a bit.
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