Christmas is Coming!

I realized I haven't posted in quite a while; December gets that way, hey? I'm actually trying to alter my daily schedule to have less jam-packed days. Build back a margin. I've been trying--today was Day 5--to get up half an hour earlier than normal. Usually, I wake up at 7, so I figured 6:30 wasn't that far of a stretch. And then I'm using that extra time in the morning to do some of the puttering that I usually dread doing once I come home from work (emptying the dishwasher, tidying up counters/tables, cleaning the litter box, etc.). Tasks that don't require a lot of cognitive effort (because it IS early morning, after all). This way, they don't build up and build up and leave my place looking like a disaster zone by the weekend. And it allows me to have more time to do everything else that has to happen after work (errands, respite, flier route, etc.), as well as more time to do the enjoyable after-work activities (reading, TV, computer, etc.).

This is only the first week, but it's working pretty well. Thursday I slept 'till 7, but only cuz I'd been out a bit later the night before. In addition to waking up early, I am trying to go to bed a little earlier, too. You may think that I'm not really gaining any time that way, but regardless of when I get up in the morning (except when I sleep in on weekends), I generally don't engage in productive activity after 10pm. But when I was waking up at 7, I wasn' t tired enough for sleep till around 11. So 10-11pm was completely unproductive awake time. Now it's usually lights out by 10:15, but from 9-10, I'm still awake enough to be doing things. So that last hour of my day is now more productive than before.

Overall, I have felt less pressed for time, and that's a good feeling. Most of my morning 'puttering' has been in the kitchen. My bedroom still looks a bit disastrous. But I don't feel like I can vacuum at 7am and have happy neighbours below me. After all, right below my bedroom is someone else's bedroom.

I think it will be easier to get up at 6:30 once the sun starts rising earlier. Sunrise time today was 8:43am (and it's not even the shortest day of the year yet; creike). And this last week, we haven't really had sunny sunrises, cuz it's been cloudy (a couple weeks ago there was such a brilliant sunrise front-lighting the downtown skyline that I briefly wished I was a professional photographer and not simply an amateur constrained by the need to get to my real work on time--but that's a whole other story). So it's completely dark when I get up, get ready, leave for work and arrive at work. So completely opposite from July when there's often a faint hint of daylight still left when I go to bed!

December Dark is nicer than November Dark, though. Christmas lights, candles, and finally some snow to pretty up the ground! (I don't mind snow, it's the bitter cold I can't stand). In my dark drives to work in the morning (or in my daylight lunch-time driving, or my quazi-dark drive home), I listen to Shine FM, which is playing all Christmas music right now. A couple weeks ago for the first time, I heard what has become my newest favourite Christmas song. I have also posted this on Facebook, but feel free to check it out again:



Beautiful!