basic things I need done every day:
6 hours sleep
get dressed
one meal at the table as a family
prayers & scriptures
read with kids for 20 minutes
15 minutes one-on-one time with each kid and spouse
brush teeth (kids and self - with toothpaste!) before bed
basic things I want done every day:
8 hours sleep
healthy breakfast at table with family – 1 fruit, 1 vegetable, 1 protein, 1 grain, 1 dairy
make beds / tidy bedrooms
tidy bathroom
healthy lunch at table with family - 1 fruit, 1 vegetable, 1 protein, 1 grain, 1 dairy
drink 64 ounces of water
family prayers
1 Institute/scripture lesson done
1 scrapbook page done
15 minutes one-on-one time with each kid and spouse
read with kids for 20 minutes
play with kids actively for 1 hour
take care of any papers on desk / needing to be filed before bed
tidy front room before bed
tidy kitchen before bed
wash and fold and put away one load of laundry
brush teeth (kids and self - with toothpaste!) before bed
weekly needs:
exercise 3 times at gym
update checkbook / pay bills / update budget
get groceries
put gas in car
run any errands
date with spouse
family game/activity night
update family journal
plan to-do list for upcoming week
1 comment:
Hey Cat!
Still here, still following you.
I know I said I'd get back to you after Christmas but the truth is that depression reared it's ugly head again for me at Christmas time. So I'm busy doing what has always helped me. Which is to be in control.
I spent my entire childhood living in the chaos that is having an alcoholic parent. Wishing I could control my environment. I even married when I was still a child (15) to claim control over my life. And it worked! I created the family for myself that I always wanted.
I still find comfort and relief from depression by gaining control over the things that are in my power. Healthy control over my own existence. (Not control of other people. Just in case you're thinking that's what I mean. LOL)
I think I'm rambling....sorry.
This is how it is for me...I start getting depressed and I get kind of lazy. It starts to spiral downward so that there's a vicious cycle of feeling down and out so I stop attending to the things that are in my power to control (housework, being a good Mom, taking care of myself physically, tending to my marriage, etc) and then I find myself depressed and defeated over those lapses so I become even more apathetic about them. And on and on.
And I really have to give myself a serious kick in the butt to pull out of it. Isn't it the strangest thing to KNOW what the problem is and want so much to fix it and just not be able to summon the energy to begin FIXING it?!?!
ugh!!!!
It's work. It really is. And what you have mentioned (excelling at the basics) is really what works for me too. Even if it feels like work and drudgery in the beginning. You just keep plugging away at it and eventually the fog lifts and it feels easier and you're able to easily do more and more.
And you accept that it could happen again. That's the frustrating part. Knowing that it (depression) may be your shadow for life and knowing that you have to be ready to deal with it again next time it visits.
And even in the face of that, here is why I keep fighting it... my father was an alcoholic in part because he was raised by one in a dysfunctional home. So even though I know that I can't be "cured" of my adult child of an alcoholic status (The damage is done. Now I just have to thrive in spite of it.) I do know that I can change my family history. I can make sure that it stops with me and that it doesn't become my children's inheritence.
So I keep fighting.
Another big gun in my battle with depression is creativity. I feel really good when I MAKE SOMETHING. CREATE SOMETHING. The antidote to the destructive nature of alcoholism and depression maybe.
So, when I finally am able to kick myself in the butt to get busy fighting, creating something is usually one of the first things I try to do.
Okay...I rambled enough for now.
Stay focused on those basic needs. Take a minute at the end of the day to give yourself credit for meeting them for yourself. You need the validation. ESPECIALLY from yourself.
Keep doing it even when it's hard. And eventually you'll likely find that you're able to start working in the "wants" too.
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