Wow, December already. I think the older we get the quicker time passes. We have so much to consider and deal with in just the everyday lives we lead which takes up much time that we blink and it’s gone before we know it.

It’s been very strange for me this last month as well as for the first time in over a decade I’ve not participated in NaNoWriMo, which also means this is my lowest November word count for probably as long. I did end up doing about 14 hours and 40 minutes of writing this month. This is the most time I’ve spent writing during a calendar month all year, and just shy of my 15 hours for the month target (I most probably past that number but I don’t keep exact times as I write).

I’ve mentioned before one of my biggest issues is consistency. A lot of the time I think I’m just lazy, but I’ve been in a better mental space the last couple of weeks and I think that’s reflected in many things including spending time writing this last fortnight or so. The problem I always face with this is how long does this positive, productive energy last, and how can I overcome loosing it and still being this version of myself?

Firstly, sleep. It’s amazing how much more energised and settled in myself I am when I’ve had a decent nights sleep. Friday night, I slept like a baby, last night not so much. It took me longer to drift off and was more like normal. I’ve got camomile tea at home, and burning incense seems to help me drift off. So I need to remember to do those each night.

Journaling helps as well, I no longer write in the very nice diary I bought this time last year, instead I’ve got one of my (many) notebooks and am using that. I don’t feel as bad if I miss a few days (or months), but journaling at the end of the day could help me process some of what’s been on my mind that day.

Looking at what I eat and drink of an evening, and afternoon. I think this is a big one, I do like my cola and am a sucker for a sweet snack. So I think I need to start looking at a shit off time for those.

Overstimulation. This happens if I cloaked too late into the evening. I need to be more disciplined with say an 8pm shut off. I have joy gaming a lot, it’s one of the few things that makes me shut my brain off to all the outside elements that eat away at me but I need to shut it off earlier than I do.

Wind down. This one is something like watching a movie. I’ve been doing this a lot more lately and I think it’s contributing to my mental health in quite a positive manner, especially as I’ve been watching movies I’ve not seen before. It’s not as proactive as gaming but (depending on the movie) it’s not boring and makes me restless.

Having a sleep routine. This one’s a little tougher as I do shift work;, but most my shifts are early morning starts and I’m not sure I wanna be getting up at 3:30am on my day off. So not sure about this one just yet.

Being well rested is massively under appreciated. The world we live in tells us we have to be on the go every waking minute, and sleep less, and work harder than ever, I’m not scared of hard work but I think we all get consumed by our jobs and lives at times and that leads to us burning out. That doesn’t help anyone.

Right folks, have an awesome day!