The semester is ending next week, and things are finally slowing down enough that I have the mental space to try to reset some of my habits that got a bit wonky during the semester. Being a professor is like a sprint — it gets a little all-consuming during the semester, and then you fall down, catch your breath, do it again…but we do get a nice break between semesters.
One habit change is trying to get up earlier. It’s depressing for me, having so much darkness in winter, and it’s definitely better waking with the dawn. Look at that pretty view through my bathroom window!
Right now, dawn is around 6, so seeing it means going to bed at 10 (instead of 11), and I think that’s sustainable. In an ideal world, I’d get to bed at 9 and get up at 5 and write from 5-8 or so, but that means going to bed at 8 if I want to hang out with Kevin and watch a show / fool around — that’s also possible now that the kids are bigger, but will take some planning. So shifting one hour up for now. More light, more leisurely mornings. Good.
Maybe more writing with a 6 a.m. start, but maybe not — today, I took it easy getting dressed, getting tea, etc., and then went to a virtual yoga class I’d signed up for at my studio (And then there was well).
I’ve managed to make almost no time for yoga since the semester started, and with the travel last week (lots of driving), my calf and foot muscles had gotten horribly tight; I’ve been fighting painful muscle cramps the last few nights, applying long hot baths and lots of massage. My body does not approve of masses of driving, it seems.
So yoga again, stretching myself out, calming myself down. I admit, I only made it through 15 minutes of a 1 hr class, but that’s 15 minutes I wouldn’t have done otherwise, so we’ll call it a win. I signed up for the unlimited membership option, which is nice here, because it means I don’t feel like I wasted money by not doing the full class. And maybe tomorrow, I’ll do 20-30 minutes. (Must remember to bring my yoga mat in from the car today…a part of why I stopped today was that my knees and the carpet were not friends.)
Plan for the day:
7:30 – 9:30 — watch the new episode of Shetland, deal with some of the e-mail backlog, post some more trip, etc. photos, have breakfast, sew some masks for an order, start a load of laundry, prep for class.
9:30 – 10:45 — teach first class (on Zoom)
11 – 12 — Zoom therapy (Jed and I started some couples therapy a few weeks ago, will report back with more details when we’re a little further in, but I think it’s likely to help with some communication issues that have lingered over the years; we’re generally fine, though, do not fret)
12 – 3 — unscheduled: lunch, continue laundry. Maybe sew more masks, maybe put up some decals in the bedroom, maybe more e-mail. Post about Kickstarter! Prep for class.
3 – 4:15 — teach second class (on Zoom)
That’s it! I’m resisting the urge to schedule more things after that — there’s nothing else that *needs* to get done then, and if I just hang out and watch TV or read, that’s fine. Maybe bake some seasonal muffins for Thanksgiving breakfast? We’ll see.
