In this post, I’ll be reviewing my week and analyzing what went well and what didn’t in week 1. It’s my intention not to let one sub-heading run into the others so each topic may be covered from different angles. Below is my breakdown.
Where was my focus this week:
I focused on getting easy 10-minute exercise or exercise-like chores in. I also used my Cefaly daily. I woke up with a migraine Monday and hit it with three medications and roughly three homeopathic therapies to no avail. I was not in pain toward late afternoon/early evening but I could tell it wasn’t beaten. Due to migraines, I focused on light stretching as my physical activity so as not to make it worse but perhaps prevent my muscles from locking up. I also tried to drink much more water these days.
I had made a meal plan and planned to grocery shop on Monday but due to the migraine, I had Instacart deliver so that I wouldn’t lose ground on my meal plan.
When I got back to work, I spent some time rebuilding my list of reoccurring tasks so that I could better be productive at work, even if I was having some version of migraine and made it to work. My symptoms vary widely, so I do need to do some version of a diagnostic and in some cases stay off the plant floor for safety reasons.
What were my stressors this week:
Migraines. Lots of them. Unfortunately, the previous week’s snow blowing and shoveling did set me off, though it may have just been having been exposed to the weather at all. These were all weather-triggered migraines and I haven’t found a way to predict or avoid them. The medicine options didn’t really abort the migraine, at least not in one day, and they made me very drowsy. I slept till 3 p.m. one of the days.
All of this made my sleep schedules a disaster. One evening I took a Benadryl to help relax my muscles and then I woke up feeling like I’d slept funny. The Sunday that I did the snow blowing I actually had felt very relaxed and ready for Monday the night before. I did still have an odd amount of trouble sleeping which may be a predrome.
Even though I was able to get groceries, there were a lot of substitutions that weren’t ideal. I somehow ended up with No Gluten, No Soy, and No GMO bread. It made a terrible grilled cheese. It didn’t absorb any of the butter and was very dense. I also still forgot the noodles for beef and noodles.
At work, the days felt like they went slowly and I struggled to maintain focus or figure out how I’d done something I had the software designed to do several years ago. I hadn’t left myself any instructions and the software may have since removed it, but the instruction videos were all different volumes and not named clearly enough, or at least I couldn’t figure them out.
I wound up wasting nearly the entire day updating the software and then listening and watching instructions with absolutely no luck. It also appears it won’t do what I wanted in the end anyway. It will have to be demoted to a later thing, as always.
What were my wins this week:
I did use my Cefaly device daily. I’m pretty sure. No lasting benefit so far. My neurologist thinks it will have a great impact in like three months, but the electrodes don’t work so well when being used daily. I don’t love it.
I also did, though maybe not completely, the homework assignment on underpainting in complementary colors watercolor assignment. It looked cool at first but I got confused and painted yellow where it should have been green, so I think I can still go back over it.
I ate a frog this week as well. 😛 I went to the library finally and got a library card and checked out Cozy Minimalist Home: More Style, Less Stuff by Myquillyn Smith. It was recommended by a YouTuber that was on a playlist. The library had two of them so I won’t feel guilty if I have to return it to a different branch. I also learned that there are about 5 Little Libraries closer to my house than the library branches. One is only 3 blocks away.
I’ve identified a few more areas to declutter. I pulled out some jewelry to try wearing and see why it is that I don’t grab for them. There were several that I felt I was dislocating my thumb to wear so there will be items to donate. Also, I decided to take the leftover silverware packets to work and let people use them.
I’ve made noodles from scratch twice now. The first batch was a failure and I threw it out. With the second batch, I struggled to get my KitchenAid to mix it but was able to save the batch.
Additionally, I grilled my steak on my George Forman grill instead of pan-frying this time. I think it was pretty easy and turned out well. The rice and seasoning were good too. Learning different ways of preparing meals should come in handy for building my skills in the kitchen.
I was able to get all the recycling and trash out of my house as the weather has calmed down a bit.
Intentions for next week’s improvements:
Get the garbage and recycling taken to the curb this week. Both cans are nearly full and I’ll have a bunch more cardboard to recycle if I don’t actually find a carload of donations.
Keep doing light 10 minute exercises, use Cefaly, and mentally transition to meetings.
Work on building up those frozen meals. I’ll have Beef and Noodles done, but I’ll need to make the spinach chicken lasagna again soon. Additionally, I will try some new marinades for chicken.
Bring my own lunch to work. The lunchroom remodel isn’t finished but this is more of a mental hurdle than anything. I hate that room and its lighting and how loud it is. Richard is back at work though and he always seems up for a chat over lunch. I can also use part of my lunch break to edit photos for these posts.
Keep dedicating non-productive time at home to completely unwind guilt-free.