Getting Kitted Out

For hair, face and teeth: Double-sided handheld mirror w/1X and 3X,
2 sets of summer colors headbands in slim and skinny,
a large spider clip (8 legged).
For exercise: (all Gold Gym) weighted gloves,
stretchy bands in 3 strengths,
 neoprene waist trimmer belt

For context see Friday's post, Report Card, where I discuss the reinstatement of Ed's coaching me on self-management with a focus on time management and habit formation to support my goals and fitness routines.

Based on the evaluation we did Friday to establish where I stood, Saturday Ed and I agreed that the next thing we'll work on is hygiene and stepping up the exercise which is the one thing I was able to hold onto during the latest mood dive.

For exercise I'm going to add a vigorous workout of at least five minutes between warm up and cool down.  This can be either added to the post vid chat session on the tramp or I can either get back on the tramp in the afternoon or do it with the resistance training moves or go for a brisk walk outside.  That last I can't do alone with my visual impairment tho.

The next task(s) we agreed to wrangle into habits were showering every other day and prepping for social engagement from the neck up early each day.  In other words face, hair and teeth.  And since we want to anchor each new habit onto one already established we chose before the 6:15 vid chat.  I'm to think of it as prepping for a date. :)

Currently I'm setting my alarm just twenty minutes ahead of the vid chat but I'm aiming to start setting it earlier as soon as I establish a consistent bedtime to support a 4:30 to 5AM rising.  And since to get the FHT task done before vid chat now I've got to do it immediately during that first bathroom visit, I may decide to keep it anchored to that as the wake-up time moves back.

To support a  4:30 to 5AM wake up I need to be asleep by 8:30 to 9PM.  Ed once said that it is important to think about your day starting with bed time not wake-up.  So I asked him why we weren't starting with that.  He said that other things needed to be in place to support that or I'd just fail and get discouraged.  He wants to set me up for overall success by giving me early mini successes to build confidence and motivation.

The first time I succeeded in getting the FHT done before vid was Sunday morning (for an 8:30 vid) and Ed asked me to describe how I felt.  About the best I could do was say 'pleased.'

Then he listed all the positive effects he could see just from my demeanor: nearly constant smile, animated features when speaking, head up, shoulders back, hands in motion instead of in my armpits, giggles, bright tone of voice.  I am paraphrasing and may be adding things I started to notice as soon as he started listing.

After his list he asked again.  What are you feeling?  I was able to say 'happy'.  Then 'content'.  Then he asked, Confident?  and I said, Maybe.  A bit.  He said, Energized?  I said, Yes!  Wow.

Then he said Now I want you to focus on all that good feeling and remember it and from now on when the thought of facing that task comes up replace the old automatic mood of weary fatigue and overwhelm it conjured with the memory of this.

Wow. What a light bulb moment. And what an object lesson he set me up for.  And yes he did plan it.

Now to the part about getting kitted out.

In our talks about the obstacles I'd identified that prevented me from maintaining consistent habits around hygiene I'd listed as the two biggest how cold the mornings were before the house heat has been on for at least an hour and how often Mom is in the bathroom when I headed that way for a shower or to take care of face, hair or teeth.

The solution was to get a space heater small enough to take back and forth between this room and the bathroom.  And a hands free portable mirror I could use at my desk or in the bedroom to do face and hair touch ups and put on accessories when heading out the door.

So I asked my sister to take me shopping Saturday evening and I came back with what's in the picture above plus the space heater.