December 21, 2007

me, in a blue scarf, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

So what I decided to give to myself for the Christmas season? My mornings.

Usually I get up, grumpy and tired, do what needs to be done to get the kids to school, settle in a drowsy lump on the couch and read my email. Then if I need to teach I’ll rush to get ready and head to campus. If not, I’ll read email and fiddle on the computer for a few hours until I’m totally embarrassed that I’m not yet showered and ready for the day.

I was letting my mornings happen to me instead of taking control of them. I decided, starting Dec 15th, that I would control my mornings better. I would spend time making a daily task list, I would indulge myself a bit in a tasty breakfast, get showered, and take a brisk brief walk to my garden before I open my computer. Most of all, I decided to avoid email and google reader until the late morning. So I can get more of my work done before seeing what everyone else in the world is up to.

In truth, none of my mornings has truly worked out this way. Two of the mornings this week I was in so much pain it was nearly impossible to do anything but just sit and moan a lot. But I did avoid email until at least 10 am. One of the mornings I had a phone interview with a colleague on the East Coast at 9 am. I had to get up early to prep for the interview and then had to check my email for updates beforehand. On yet another of the mornings I had to be at the Admin Bldg at 8 am to straighten out a funding snafu (grrr, 3 hours later it was finally settled).

But while none of the mornings have been my ideal, I have worked on making task list for each day and setting mini goals and priorities. I’ve spent less time on the computer and more time in morning meditation (healing meditation!). Tomorrow morning I will be up very early to go see my masseuse friend–she squeezed me into her schedule at a rather ungodly hour. So technically I won’t be following the morning guidelines that I set for myself. But really, is there a better way to start the day [to JW: note that I didn’t say that a massage was better than sex]?

Oh, and one more thing: guess what’s kept me warm and cozy each and every morning? See the scarf in the picture? ;-)