Getting my Life back in Order

[CaptDia3939]

I have been dreaming about a big helping to get my life in order, by creating the structure that I so desperately yearn for. I have finally come to the point that I am going to do that work for myself. I am going to be posting here, hopefully, daily for a while to go over what my schedule for the day was supposed to be and how it actually turned out. I hope that having to tell “someone” about what I did and didn’t do during the day will be the needed kick in the pants to get things going in the right direction. 
 

I am currently working on a basic schedule for a fairly typical week. When I have that done to my liking I will post it for general reference.

Time to cover some of the general ideas I have for this,

1. Improved dental hygiene, yeah I need to get in the habit of brushing my teeth twice a day at least. Mouthwash and flossing are also on the list.

2. General cleaning, I need to get back in the habit of making my bed every day and get a handle on my dishes. Luckily I just started a new laundry routine that really seems to be working. I also need to do the standard house cleaning of my apartment.

3. Working out, I am currently working out with an old work colleague twice a week. He is a gym rat and I am super thankful to have him helping me. We are both separated from the Military(American), him the Marines and myself, the Army, so we share bond through that. I want to get one more workout during the week to make it three times a week. 
4. Discipline, I am going to do “need more…discipline” push-ups everyday. I will have a set number that I have to do daily as a base, but can earn more for failing to meet standard the previous day. If I fail to do all of the required push-ups for the day, they will carryover to the next day, being added to that days total. I will not be able to do extras one day, so I can do less the next. I would be interested in hearing if anyone has any mantra with exercise ideas. 
5. Discipline part 2, as needed I will write lines for failing to meet standard. Other punishments are possible and will be doled out when appropriate. If some has ideas, please say so.
 

I feel like this post is a bit confusing, but I hope as I post about how my day went , things will become more clear. As I come up with more concise ways to put things I will update this post. 
 

Edit: Here is my schedule/to do list for 2-23-2022. I will post a semi-completed version tomorrow.

To do list for 2-23-2022

Thing to do	Did I actually do it?
Wake up by Noon
Make my bed before work.
Brush my teeth before work.
Do 30 “need more…discipline” push-ups.
Get to work on time.
Workout
Take a shower.
Get to bed by 4AM

Failure to complete a task will add 5-10 additional push-ups the following day.

Failure to complete a task may also earn an additional penalty.

 

Tasks completed: ?

Tasks failed: ?

Penalty push-ups earned: ??

Total of push-ups done today: ??

Total of push-ups needed for today: 30

Difference between the two above: ??

Daily push-up number: 20

Tomorrows total: ??

Edited February 23, 2022 by CaptDia3939

[~Brian~]

9 hours ago, CaptDia3939 said:

I have been dreaming about a big helping to get my life in order, by creating the structure that I so desperately yearn for. I have finally come to the point that I am going to do that work for myself. I am going to be posting here, hopefully, daily for a while to go over what my schedule for the day was supposed to be and how it actually turned out. I hope that having to tell “someone” about what I did and didn’t do during the day will be the needed kick in the pants to get things going in the right direction. 
 

I am currently working on a basic schedule for a fairly typical week. When I have that done to my liking I will post it for general reference.

Time to cover some of the general ideas I have for this,

1. Improved dental hygiene, yeah I need to get in the habit of brushing my teeth twice a day at least. Mouthwash and flossing are also on the list.

2. General cleaning, I need to get back in the habit of making my bed every day and get a handle on my dishes. Luckily I just started a new laundry routine that really seems to be working. I also need to do the standard house cleaning of my apartment.

3. Working out, I am currently working out with an old work colleague twice a week. He is a gym rat and I am super thankful to have him helping me. We are both separated from the Military(American), him the Marines and myself, the Army, so we share bond through that. I want to get one more workout during the week to make it three times a week. 
4. Discipline, I am going to do “need more…discipline” push-ups everyday. I will have a set number that I have to do daily as a base, but can earn more for failing to meet standard the previous day. If I fail to do all of the required push-ups for the day, they will carryover to the next day, being added to that days total. I will not be able to do extras one day, so I can do less the next. I would be interested in hearing if anyone has any mantra with exercise ideas. 
5. Discipline part 2, as needed I will write lines for failing to meet standard. Other punishments are possible and will be doled out when appropriate. If some has ideas, please say so.
 

I feel like this post is a bit confusing, but I hope as I post about how my day went , things will become more clear. As I come up with more concise ways to put things I will update this post. 
 

Edit: Here is my schedule/to do list for 2-23-2022. I will post a semi-completed version tomorrow.

To do list for 2-23-2022

Thing to do	Did I actually do it?
Wake up by Noon
Make my bed before work.
Brush my teeth before work.
Do 30 “need more…discipline” push-ups.
Get to work on time.
Workout
Take a shower.
Get to bed by 4AM

Failure to complete a task will add 5-10 additional push-ups the following day.

Failure to complete a task may also earn an additional penalty.

 

Tasks completed: ?

Tasks failed: ?

Penalty push-ups earned: ??

Total of push-ups done today: ??

Total of push-ups needed for today: 30

Difference between the two above: ??

Daily push-up number: 20

Tomorrows total: ??

@CaptDia3939

well I do admire your zeal to make sure that you were “getting back on track“, take it from a guy who is trying to do that himself. The most important thing is that you make sure that you do as much as you can every day, but not to overdo it and over exert yourself. If you were overexert yourself, you may tire yourself out, which makes it harder for you to worry about what is more important. What I would do is to make sure that your basic needs are met, and make sure that things such as: getting up, getting halfway decent food, make sure you get clean, brush your teeth, shave, comb your hair, etc. once you have that, and you have eaten, then worry about what you have for household responsibilities: do one or two things a day, and make sure that you cut your laundry into manageable pieces so that you do not end up doing an entire 10 loads of laundry. Take it from a guy that has at least 10 loads of laundry that I had to do and it took me a few months to get it done. Once you get your schedule in place, make sure that you are able to complete the task that you placed on your list. If you cannot complete the things on your list, don’t worry about it, just take it slow, steady, and make your best effort. As you continue to do this, it will be easier and easier and easier to knock out each one of your tasks.

I had to do the same thing: one day I decided that I was sick and tired of looking at my kitchen in the way it was just a disheveled mess: I ended up cleaning out all of my cabinets, clean off all of my counters, did all of my dishes, put them all away, wiped down my counters, disinfected the cabinets, and make sure all of my areas are clean. Then I took things that I needed available on my kitchen counters and place them there. I have a galley kitchen although my apartment is 12 x 60 – you just I have to make sure that you are able to do what you want to do without overdoing it. As a guy with a disability and CP, one of the things that I try to do every day is to have a plan, which I do – but I also have to realize that sometimes my plans may change. For the last four or five weeks, our temperatures have gone from below 0 to 35° all the way to 55. Yesterday, I could’ve come back here and done a lot of stuff in my house, and I have been doing things in my house, but because yesterday was so nice, I decided that it was time for me to be able to get out of my house and use my chair and get exercise. While I was out I ended up paying my phone bill, going to the local sub shop for lunch, went to get some organization bins from my local hardware store, and then I went to my local sub shop, and then I went to our local pharmacy, where I picked up a couple of things that I needed.

Basically, I did what I needed to do, but I also realize that my plans changed because of the fact that we have had a good couple of days. I attended an 815 appointment yesterday morning, at my local rehab center, and did an hour of exercise on top of what I had just told you had done. By the time I hit the sub shop, it was about 11 o’clock, and I was half dead, because I was tired. I decided that I needed to be out in the air, because that would give me the push I needed to get exercise and feel good about myself.

The most important thing is to make sure that you don’t burn yourself out in your schedule. Sure, make sure that the basics are met, that your bed is made, that your dishes are done, and that it is clean and sanitary as necessary, and that you are healthy. However, make sure that you’re not so worried about things in your house, that you don’t take time out to take care of what you need. If you work out with your friend, that will be the way that you take care of your personal needs, and make sure that you’re getting plenty of rest, nutrition, and being able to have time for yourself.

I end up having someone come in here every other week, and their function as a support person is to help me clean my apartment: they do the following things: dishes, counters, appliances, floors, bathroom, sinks, shower, toilets, trash cans, incontinence garbage removal, and laundry if necessary. I have a system where I do a load of laundry now when my laundry hamper is full. When that happens, I also do any washable pads or incontinence underwear that I need to in order to make sure that they are clean and available should I need them.

because the system that I have, and because of what I asked them to do, it does not normally take more than two hours per visit.  Necessary I can have an extra three hours per week for additional organization or cleaning if necessary, although they are short staffed so they will not be able to provide the service for this period of time, so I always try to make it as easy for my cleaning person as I can. If I can do something to help her, I will do it. For example, when you have incontinence products that you must remove in your pail, you basically have to open the bottom of it and pull your bag down, and then put enough of it out so that you can tie a knot in the end of it once it is cut off. Cut it off, tie a knot in the bottom of the New bag, and then tie a knot in the bag that holds the incontinence supplies you wish to eliminate. Once I tie a knot in both I end up closing the can, and then removing the old her bag so that all she hast to do is drag it out and dump it in the trash.

most of January however, I have not been able to do this because I had been so tired. One of the things that has helped me is my brand new recliner because my recliner has the lift, Heat and massage, and this is been a godsend for the last month or so. Because I feel better about myself, and I feel stronger, I am able to do more. I have restarted my physical therapy and that makes me feel better, so that ends up giving me a full and more rounded situation. I guess when you feel sick, you don’t have very much energy, so that is what can happen. 
 

what I have decided to do is to change the way I think about things: incontinence is the least of my worries, because that is something that I can deal with and have dealt with since 2019 very effectively, and I have the support system in place to be able to get what I need when I need it, and I also am able to handle most things that come my way. One of the things that I have decided is that I am not going to worry about what everybody else thinks says or believes, I’m just going to do what I think to be right and if I need assistance, or advice, I can always ask. The beauty of this is that I don’t end up having to worry about everything that can possibly happen, but I would worry only about things that I have to worry about. Most of what I have been worrying about is something that is so minuscule that it’s ridiculous, but I end up making it sound like it’s 20 times worse than it actually needs to be. My plan is to work on what I can work on, do what I can do, and the rest, I won’t worry about, because that is what caused some of the stress. Part of the deal is that I want to remove as much stress for my life as possible, and let me tell you being here on DD actually helps me make sure that my stress level is Almost nil. This is not necessarily mean that I will never have to worry about anything again, far from it, it’s just a way for me to re-prioritize what is important in life, worry about what needs to happen, and worry not so much about things that don’t mean much. You only live once, and if you’re constantly worried about everything under the sun, you were going to burn yourself out, or age yourself real fast.

I Admire you for wanting to do better for yourself, and try to get things organized and better suited for your lifestyle. Just be careful doing it because you don’t want to end up causing more stress for yourself trying to do it. Take it slow take it easy, and I guarantee you things will eventually become easier, because your systems that you decide to use to deal with the situations Will make it easier once you get into a rhythm. Just remember, it is not necessary to continually use the same rhythm, because just like when you are exercising, you want to shake it up a little bit so that your muscles do not get into the same rhythm and automatically get used to the grind, and that is why you mix it up. Do the same thing with what you were doing in your plans, because you may want to switch it up so that you might do something let’s say that you do in the morning in the evening, or something that you do in the evening in the morning, but you will always want to assess what it is that you think you need to do, and be prepared to switch it up from time to time.

Brian

[CaptDia3939]

To do list for 2-23-2022

Thing to do	Did I actually do it?
Wake up by Noon	Yes
Make my bed before work.	No
Brush my teeth before work.	Yes
Do 30 “need more…discipline” push-ups.	No
Get to work on time.	Yes
Workout	Yes
Take a shower.	No
Brush teeth before bed.	???
Get to bed by 4AM	???

Failure to complete a task will add 5-10 additional push-ups the following day.

Failure to complete a task may also earn an additional penalty.

 

Tasks completed: 4

Tasks failed: 3

Tasks TBD: 2

Penalty push-ups earned: 20

Total of push-ups done today: 0

Total of push-ups needed for today: 30

Difference between the two above: 30

Daily push-up number: 20

Tomorrows total: 70

 

Notes from today: I had a half way decent day, would have taken a shower at the gym had I remembered my towel and wash cloth. I failed to do any push-ups today, so now begins the debt I was semi hoping for. I will update tomorrow about when I went to bed and if I brushed my teeth.

[CaptDia3939]

I’m doing a bit of rethinking on this whole thing. Instead of breaking the wall I hit every time, perhaps I should go around instead. More info soon.