It’s February 2nd, which is the halfway point of winter! On this day, many bloggers write about what’s saving their life in the midst of the longer, colder days of this season and I thought I would join in this year. In the midst of powering through winter, Robert started a new work schedule which has us both waking up earlier than we ever have before in our marriage - by at least two hours - and I have also hit my third trimester, which I’ve learned comes with more fatigue. I am needing even more oomph to make it from morning to night - and these are the things that are helping!
Mini Morning Routine
Some people plan elaborate morning routines to help them face each day. My morning routine goal has been rather simple the last two months: be out of bed with my teeth brushed by the time the hubby leaves the house. With these dark, cold winter mornings, getting out of bed is seemingly the hardest work of each day - and it's even harder to do once the house is quiet and empty. On the mornings where I’m not out of bed before the hubby leaves, I find myself sleeping in until the sun is streaming through my windows at it’s brightest - which is later in the morning than I’m willing to put on paper. And the brushing my teeth part? It simply makes going back to bed less tempting somehow.
Half Cups of Black Tea
(and many full cups of herbal and decaf tea, lets be honest)
I couldn’t tolerate any form of tea in the first four months of pregnancy, which meant that I basically stopped drinking black tea cold turkey after 2-4 cups a day being my norm for almost 13 years. I didn’t even notice the caffeine withdrawal that I’m sure I probably had. But I DID notice the affect of caffeine once I was able to tolerate tea again around Christmas time. I had a tall macchiato on the day that we flew out for Christmas and more energy than my husband or I could handle. I also noticed that baby boy would move much more if I consumed stronger and larger amounts of caffeine - so I’ve started drinking half cups of caffeinated tea when I need an energy boost - or drinking one cup of tea over several hours and microwaving it often. Kiddo barely responds to the smaller amounts of caffeine at all and it helps me survive my days without crashing.
Happy Trekking Mix
I keep finding myself ravenous between meals and this Trader Joe’s trail mix helps me quell hunger until I can figure out how to squeeze in an additional meal. It’s the perfect mix of sweet and salty and it has no peanuts! Sometimes I just want a trail mix without peanuts as fillers! And while it has almonds, they aren’t overpowering. I suppose I find too many peanuts AND too many almonds a problem - and this trail mix is the answer. Haha! Also - some snacks are only good for morning, or afternoon, or evening - but this one seems to be appropriate for any hour of the day.
Brain Dumping
Between still settling into our new house, preparing for baby, and adjusting to Robert’s new schedule, there is simply so much to do and sometimes I find my brain completely overwhelmed with thoughts and unable to organize them all in a meaningful way. (There's a possibility I could also attribute this to pregnancy brain.) As a result, I’ve changed the way I write out my to do lists and thoughts. I now title the top of a page in my Bullet Journal “Brain Dump + Date” and write out every single thought in my head on a different line, much in the fashion of the the original Bullet Journaler’s method of the “Daily” list. I’ve been much more methodical with my list making and bullet journaling in the past, but I am finding that wrangling all of my thoughts onto one page helps clear my brain up so quickly and then I don’t worry about forgetting something. After I brain dump, I either sort it into meaningful lists and tasks right then or a day or two later later. Most often, I work off of it as if it were a to do list for a few days, and then I re-evaluate things and move them backwards to the month’s lists or forwards to an active to do list. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, check out this video.
Mini Naps
I just can’t seem to get through some days without them! I fall asleep sitting straight up typing at my computer. I haven’t done anything like that since college, when I used to fall asleep on the floor with an open textbook as a pillow five minutes after finishing a sizable caffeinated beverage. I've been blown away by how much fuel I have after my short dozes. One day, I slept for 11 minutes and felt as though it changed the entire course of my day. I have a feeling that these power sessions will continue to be a favorite even after McBoy arrives!
How are you surviving the winter doldrums this year? I would love to hear!