Soothing September

After a nice time visiting all of our family and friends this weekend, I'm thinking about what this next month will hold for us.  Though I am no longer teaching, Mike is back in class two nights a week.  My job will continue at a slightly hectic pace until a new editor is hired.  I also have a trade show in Orlando I'll be flying out for.

One thing I realized this weekend is how much balance I've lost in my life as of recent.  Admittedly, I know that teaching + a day job will make for a busy time.  I didn't know, however, how much 2 classes each week would affect me (nor that my mate would be gone for most of it ...).  Let's just say that it would be prudent to limit myself to one in the future.

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Whenever I get stressed, not only am I an unhappy camper, but my body joins in on the fun.  Like most people, I begin to sleep poorly, make unwise food choices, gain weight, have acne show up, and feel sluggish on all accounts.  The past few weeks, I've even been fighting off allergies/a cold.

All of this is completely unnecessary.  To try to get more done at work, I've rarely taken lunch breaks and routinely stayed late.  Funny thing is, all this extra time isn't amounting to more productivity.  Just more stress and tiredness.

So I'm declaring this month "Soothing September" and am setting out to regain balance.  My goals are simple:

• Get proper rest.  Despite what the studies say, I'm a 10 hours a night kind of girl.  That means going to bed somewhere between 9-10pm.
• Mindful eating.  Meatless Mondays and a influx of fruits/veggies are being reinstated.
• Read.  Despite the hectic schedule as of late, I've continued picking through the Lord of the Rings trilogy and now only have the appendices to polish off.  This has been very relaxing and I need to continue making time for this.
• Exercise. Though in an ideal world I would bike to work every day, I am going to shoot for 2 days.  I also want to take evening walks and add some simple weight lifting.  Whatever combination I fit in, I want to get 30 minutes in 3 times a week.

While I'm tempted to add more, I'm going to stick to these.  If you make your goals too complicated, I've found they just end up complicating your life. 

What are your goals for this month?