Hi Liz! Just getting out of bed at 5:30 and moving around is a great first step. Melissa has said before (and I agree) to not ever hit snooze - EVER. It helps immensely if you have to get out of bed and walk even a few steps to turn off your alarm. It is much easier to hit snooze if you're still laying in bed. Long-winded, but my point is - just getting up at 5:30 is enough!
Thank you! Today went great. It helps to have two VERY excited golden retrievers who will not be fooled by snooze. The voice in my head was CRAZY trying to convince me to sleep. Working with IFS therapist to figure out what this “part’s” job was and to let it relax a bit. I did sleep like crap and end up taking a nap; but felt super serene. It was a great first day!!
Hi Melissa. I wasn’t sure where best to post this question so landed here. I was curious if you would recommend your Whoop band for those who workout but aren’t monitoring something specific for their health, like your concussion symptoms? I workout 5ish times per week and as I’m about to hit my 51st birthday (how the heck am I in my 50s!?!?) I realize paying attention to recovery is getting as important as my actual workouts. Otherwise, I don’t have a specific goal or health needed to monitor. Is a Whoop worth the investment? Thanks!!
I summarized these pieces for my students today as we got back into our notebook routine. Sometimes we get stuck on what we want to write so I shared what you said here about writing. Some of the kids even tried it and said it helped! 🥰
Hi Alexandra. I “reduced” my drinking a year ago and ultimately gave it entirely this summer. I can share what worked for me .... first, the language I used was helpful. Reducing vs quitting was a much easier concept to motivate me. Quitting out right, initially, felt like I was setting myself up to fail. So the goal was to cut back. I did this 2 ways.
One, I’d pour smaller drinks which got progressively smaller over time (I recognize this would not work for an addict but, again, it worked for me). Two, I’d make it situational; eg, I can’t drink if at home vegging out in front of the TV but I can if I’m out at dinner socializing. About 6 months in to this reduction, I realized I just wanted less alcohol naturally.
Giving it up completely became a natural and easy next step. I still haven’t changed my language, though; meaning I have never set out to quit cold turkey. So, if I have a taste of my husband’s red blend from Paso Robles, my world isn’t going to fall apart (however, this too I rarely even want anymore).
The one other unexpected outcome for me was a change in my social life/habits. I have a few friends, incredible people, who I realized my entire relationship was built around food and drinks. I didn’t consciously chose to spend less time with them, but that has happened. So, now I’m working on hanging out with drinkers on a regular basis (and by working on, I mean deciding if I even want to do that).
When I became alcohol free I changed my habit of nightly wine to nightly tea or hot chocolate or a nightly walk if it’s light enough outside.
I’m definitely jumping on the no snooze in 2023 bandwagon! I used to be so good about it and then had surgery back in August/September and lost my desire after I healed... I’m refocused now & excited for my early mornings again!
My goal habit is to wake up at 5:30. Should I stack that with doing something? Or just practice getting up at 5:30 and out of my bedroom for five min?
Hi Liz! Just getting out of bed at 5:30 and moving around is a great first step. Melissa has said before (and I agree) to not ever hit snooze - EVER. It helps immensely if you have to get out of bed and walk even a few steps to turn off your alarm. It is much easier to hit snooze if you're still laying in bed. Long-winded, but my point is - just getting up at 5:30 is enough!
Thank you! Today went great. It helps to have two VERY excited golden retrievers who will not be fooled by snooze. The voice in my head was CRAZY trying to convince me to sleep. Working with IFS therapist to figure out what this “part’s” job was and to let it relax a bit. I did sleep like crap and end up taking a nap; but felt super serene. It was a great first day!!
I always have to laugh when our parts try to be so helpful by offering options that are not always what we want. 💕
Hi Melissa. I wasn’t sure where best to post this question so landed here. I was curious if you would recommend your Whoop band for those who workout but aren’t monitoring something specific for their health, like your concussion symptoms? I workout 5ish times per week and as I’m about to hit my 51st birthday (how the heck am I in my 50s!?!?) I realize paying attention to recovery is getting as important as my actual workouts. Otherwise, I don’t have a specific goal or health needed to monitor. Is a Whoop worth the investment? Thanks!!
I summarized these pieces for my students today as we got back into our notebook routine. Sometimes we get stuck on what we want to write so I shared what you said here about writing. Some of the kids even tried it and said it helped! 🥰
How do you think of stopping something as a habit? How do I “show up” to not have a glass of wine at night?
I love the no snooze idea as a habit for 2023, too. No snooze! :)
Hi Alexandra. I “reduced” my drinking a year ago and ultimately gave it entirely this summer. I can share what worked for me .... first, the language I used was helpful. Reducing vs quitting was a much easier concept to motivate me. Quitting out right, initially, felt like I was setting myself up to fail. So the goal was to cut back. I did this 2 ways.
One, I’d pour smaller drinks which got progressively smaller over time (I recognize this would not work for an addict but, again, it worked for me). Two, I’d make it situational; eg, I can’t drink if at home vegging out in front of the TV but I can if I’m out at dinner socializing. About 6 months in to this reduction, I realized I just wanted less alcohol naturally.
Giving it up completely became a natural and easy next step. I still haven’t changed my language, though; meaning I have never set out to quit cold turkey. So, if I have a taste of my husband’s red blend from Paso Robles, my world isn’t going to fall apart (however, this too I rarely even want anymore).
The one other unexpected outcome for me was a change in my social life/habits. I have a few friends, incredible people, who I realized my entire relationship was built around food and drinks. I didn’t consciously chose to spend less time with them, but that has happened. So, now I’m working on hanging out with drinkers on a regular basis (and by working on, I mean deciding if I even want to do that).
Good luck!!
Thank you - this is very helpful framing! I’m looking to reduce and like the not at home vegging idea.
When I became alcohol free I changed my habit of nightly wine to nightly tea or hot chocolate or a nightly walk if it’s light enough outside.
I’m definitely jumping on the no snooze in 2023 bandwagon! I used to be so good about it and then had surgery back in August/September and lost my desire after I healed... I’m refocused now & excited for my early mornings again!
And by default when I quit drinking I started going to bed earlier so that was a definite plus!!