Life Reboot

Have you ever felt like your brain was running on neutral?

Oh yeah- I am so there- in fact, it's been in neutral for so long, not only did I miss a blog post, but I posted a Christmas poem I posted last year!

The thing is, I did this without realizing it. How's that for neutral?

Surgical recovery is hard. At first it's hard to stay still (because you have to), and then it becomes hard because you get used to not moving. It's easy to slip into a mind-numbing state, binge-watching Netflix and being served by your family instead of the other way around. It's hard because when it's time to get back in the saddle and reboot your life, you hesitate. You don't really want to give up living like a queen and mount that runaway horse yet, do you? Ugh. No.

For most of us, life is like a runaway horse- no control, chaotic, and very stressful. Why would anyone in their right mind want to get back on that horse when they could spend more time 'recovering'?

God says there is a time for everything. My time for recovery is almost at an end. My time for runaway horse-riding is approaching.

Or is it?

In between binge-watching sessions, I've been working on a life reboot. When I'm ready to mount lifes' horse, I want to be the one holding the reins. And that means there are going to be some changes in this here corral!

I'll be honest with you- before surgery, I spent many hours each day in my writing space without accomplishing much. Facebook, emails, and other distractions turn productive writing time into a long period of wasted time. Yes, I like keeping up with Facebook friends, and cleaning out my emails is a needed task, but the problem is I'm not scheduling it. I don't block out a time to do these things. Instead, I write a little, and get distracted. For hours. And it has to stop. 

While I spent hours sequestered in my writing space not being productive, housework wouldn't get done either, and I'd depend on my family to take up the slack. That was fine- even expected- during recovery, but now I need to step up as a wife and mom and start cracking the whip- on myself. The husband may be the leader of the family, but the wife is the glue that holds the family together.

That's what this reboot is all about. It has nothing to do with the New Year! It's just a happy coincidence.

Many of you feel as I do- that you're on a runaway horse with no control over your life. How do we let ourselves get into that state? Not everyone has the recovery time like I was given to contemplate lifestyle changes- you have to do it as you hold onto that horse! But if you set your mind to the task, you can slow that horse down enough to retrain it.

You'd be amazed how much time you can find in between the cracks to do this!

I found my time by giving up binge-watching Netflix. I also uninstalled time-sucking games on my phone. As much as I love them, I know they're bad for me. This saved me hours per day and allowed me to open my schedule for other things I needed to get done or accomplish. Take a look at your schedule and see where your extra time is hiding!

Oddly enough, cutting down my writing time has actually increased my writing productivity! I set deadlines for myself each day (including free time like Facebook and emails), setting a timer when I need to so I stay on track. I've done it a few times during recovery (mainly because I wasn't supposed to be at my desk for hours...oops), and it worked well. I'm going to be testing this timer method throughout the week and tweak it when needed. 

Pray, schedule, read, learn, accomplish. That is my mantra for this upcoming year.

By the time I'm fully recovered, I won't be riding a runaway horse- at least for the most part- and God is going to help me enjoy the ride!