April Rules

I know my my last set of monthly challenges was a little underwhelming. To be honset, I was starting a new job and wanted to make sure that I didn't set the bar too high. Now that we've hit April, I'm ready to get back to a serious challenge.

I had to think long and hard about an overindulgence for this month. I kept thinking to myself, I've already done all of my major bad habits. So it has come to this: sleep.

I LOVE sleeping. I am the queen of naps. I get really cranky when I don't get enough sleep. So I'm going to help myself out by establishing a consistant sleep schedule that doesn't tempt me to overindulge.

First thing, I'm not going to hit the snooze alarm. (I have been known to hit the snooze four or five times. AKA through all the time I was supposed to be at the gym. Note: my alarm clock is on the other side of the room from my bed, so every eight minutes I get out of bed and hit the snooze. That doesn't make for good sleep OR a good workout.) So this month, when I set my alarm is when I get up.

Secondly I am going to try to stick to a bed time during the work week. In bed, lights out, beckoning sleep by eleven pm. Wake up at six am every week day. (Even when I don't go to the gym.) That gives me a full seven hours of sleep. So I should be good to go during the day and be tired again when it's time for bed. (Keeping an eye on my caffeine intake is also going to be key.)

The weekends will be the tricky part. I know better than to put strict rules on those sleeping hours, since I'm such a rebel, but hopefully I will not get too far off track. Wish me luck.

My new positive habit this month? Reading the news. I'm sick and tired of not knowing what is going on in the world. (Example: They're shutting down the U.S. government? WTF?) If I am going to have the positive impact on the planet that I want to, I really need to be better informed. (Everything I know about the rebellions in Egypt and Libia I've learned from friend's tweets.) So, those early mornings that I don't go to the gym, my time before work will be spent reading the news of the day. I haven't decided between CNN.com or BBC.com yet. Any suggestions for a good free news source? I also subscribed to the Sunday edition of the L.A. Times, which I plan to tackle on the weekends. Hopefully reading the news three days a week will at least get me a preliminary understanding of current events.

What do you think of these new goals?

Also, in case you were curious. My reaction to my Goals for March:

I started taking vitamins. I didn't find a noticeable improvement in my health. However, though three of my office mates got sick, I remained healthy as can be. Possibly a coincidence, but it is comforting to know my cells are getting the nutrients they need.

I also survived my media diet. There were some dark times. I found a new show (Downton Abbey in casse you care) and instead of watching it in one sitting as I wanted to, I had to spread it out. But it was good to recognize I can survive with no tv in the evenings.

~Claire Out.