Monday, April 2, 2012

Bedtime

This is still part of the to do list, I just didn't include to do list in the post title because today is B on the Challenge.

Beat Bedtime Blues By Being Better


Bedtime


I know some people may think this is an odd topic for a to do list. It's not. Writers and non writers alike have trouble stopping what they're doing and going to bed. It's not always easy to get to bed at a decent time. I will admit I suck at it. Most of my nights go on until at least 2AM and many times well after that. I can't stop writing/critiquing/revising/etc. It's a harder feat when you have kids.

Which is something else that this goes with. Getting kids to bed on time. That's almost as hard as getting ourselves there. Kids want to stay up. They want to play, or watch TV or if they're like mine-they're just plain nosy. My oldest is always complaining about going to bed because she's afraid she'll miss out on something exciting.

No matter if you need to get only yourself, or both you and little ones-decent bedtime is hard to accomplish. I've found that no matter what I try, I can't get to bed early. There are too many things I have/want to get done and I can't do it until my kids are in bed. Plus, I'm a night owl, always have been. I function better in the late hours of the night-or VERY early hours of the morning. Either way, I can't make myself get to bed early.

Things to try...If you're one of those people who can tell yourself you're going to do something, and it actually works, then do that. Pick a time you would like to go to bed-do it in advance so it's on your mind-and then that's when you'll stop whatever you're doing and go to bed. Motivate yourself with figuring. Figure how many hours you have until you need to be up the next day. Then motivate yourself with that. You want to get some sleep, so decide how much you need to really function. No one wants to be a grumpy Gus.

If you have little kids that make bedtime a chore...find something that helps them relax. There are several different things we do over here. Some nights it's an herbal tea (decaf btw) My kids love it, they love that they have their own tea, and it's got natural herbs that help them to relax. Win-win. Something else is music-something without words and with smooth sounds is what helps mine. Reading is another excellent way to get the kids to wind down. For mine, it's the Bible. Any children's books just get them riled up. Finally, a massage. Yep, I give my little ones massages, have since they were infants. It came highly recommended by several health professionals and also two different parenting classes i took. My daughters absolutely love it. I usually just gently rub their backs and they get sleepy within a minute or two. Kids stress out too, ya know.

So, yeah this was a bit longer than intended but, there ya go.

Happy Sleeping :)

11 comments:

Jeremy [Retro] said...

Oh I wish I could sleep... as a kid to teen... 12 hours easy. now I am lucky if I get 3, it's stress and 8 cups of coffee a day.

Great start... to the challenge "B" is for Brilliant!
Jeremy [Retro-Zombie]
A to Z Co-Host
IZOMBIE: Visit the Madness

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I usually hit the bed about the same time every night. When my body says it's done, I know it means it!

Kela McClelland said...

Jeremy- I'm the same, lucky if I get 3 hours. I drink a lot of coffee, but it's more because I spend my days as mom and my nights as writer and by the time the writer gets to take over-the voices in my head just keep going.

Alex-If I didn't have kids, I could probably get more sleep in. It's tough though when I spend days as mom and nights as writer. It makes it really hard to shut the voices off when they've been wanting to be heard all day.

Cassie Mae said...

oh sleep, how I miss you. :)

Timothy S. Brannan said...

I used to stay up till all hours of the night and morning to write.

Can't do that anymore, not since having kids.

Looking forward to seeing what you do all month!

Tim
The Other Side
The Freedom of Nonbelief

Karen Jones Gowen said...

And then there's people like me who go to bed early but wake up a few hours later with my mind churning. Gah!

Welcome to the Challenge!

KarenG

SpacerGuy said...

Pure Organic Camomile will relax the nerves.

sjp said...

I often find myself with a list of tasks to do in the afternoon, but before I know its 9pm and sleep is more inticing. I live by nighttime is for sleeping... or dancing.

Sarah Tokeley said...

I definitely don't get enough sleep. I'm a night owl and always stay up too late but, like most of us, I have to get up early.

Donna B. McNicol said...

It's past my bedtime but I'm still reading A to Z blogs....LOL!

Kela McClelland said...

Cassie-I'm so with you!

Tim- LOL! It's because I have kids that I stay up at all hours of the night and morning to write. It's the only time I get anything done.

Karen-Oh, I've had that happen. I go to bed early thinking I can finally get some sleep and then a few hours later I'm wide awake and back at the computer. Thanks for stopping by :)

Spacerguy-I'll have to check that out :)

sjp-I used to think like that-long ago. I've been a night owl for a long time now though.

Sarah-Oh yeah, that's me. In bed too late and up so early.

Donna-LOL! Well, it's 130AM here and I am up responding to comments and reading blogs :)

Thanks for stopping by everyone! :D