It has been a crazy, fun, busy summer, filled with late nights, field trips, bonfires and vacations. Our schedules have been wacky, our diets sketchy—at best. I’m ready to get back to normal, back to “Real-Life.”
I Am Ready
Whether we have young children, grown children or no children, when school starts for the year, the scramble to get back to reality begins. Our days become structured, our routines become regular.
I Am Ready for 8 Hours
I don’t know about you, but a little piece of me looks forward to turning the clocks back. When the sky begins to darken by 5 or 6 it allows me to wind down and go to bed early. I love sleep. My body loves sleep. My mind loves sleep. Lack of a good night’s sleep not only leaves your head fuzzy and your energy low, but in the long-run leads to weight gain, poor decisions and crankiness. When our lives get busy, we sacrifice sleep to get things done. In reality we are most productive when we are rested. Set a bedtime and stick to it.
I Am Ready for Breakfast
Did you just make a face? I know for many of you breakfast is an enigma. The fact remains that even if your mind isn’t ready to eat, your body is. You’ve just spent 8 hours with no intake of water or food. Your body is dehydrated and hungry and needs nourishment to function mentally and physically. No, coffee is not breakfast. Breakfast should consist of protein, carbs, and some healthy fats. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my morning pot of coffee. I would not function without it. But I also enjoy my morning yogurt with cereal and nuts. Eating in the morning sets your body’s internal schedule, which will deter over eating due to low blood sugar or extreme hunger later in the day. So eat up!
I Am Ready to Be Productive.
At work, productivity is rewarded with a paycheck. The threat of not getting that paycheck often what keeps us motivated to be productive. Raising kids is, essentially, a non-paying job that requires a high degree of productivity. The motivator here is the result: Happy healthy well-adjusted children.
I think there is truth to the statement, the more you have to do the more you get done. Whether you are a stay at home parent or an executive at large corporation, making a to-do list will help with your productivity throughout the day. Yet perhaps even more important is how the act of crossing tasks off your list will leave you with an energizing feeling of accomplishment.
I Am Ready to De-stress.
Running, resistance training, kickboxing, yoga, meditation, gardening. Whatever helps us to de-stress and recharge needs to be a priority in our lives. Taking a little bit of time everyday to focus on ourselves provides these mental clarity and physical energy to deal with the demanding world around us.
I’m Ready to Go!
I am ready, set, and going to get control of my body, mind and schedule this September!