going to bed

Motivate yourself with Pinterest

| Ester

Today I’m going to share with you a little tool I use to motivate myself to go to bed on time in the evening, as well as getting up early in the morning.

Pinterest.

Warning:

As with all things on earth, Pinterest can be used for purposes of endless procrastination, zombying out, addictive mindlessness or other crappy habits.

On the other hand, I also found a very promising use of the medium:

Creating Motivational Moodboards!

I’ve created a “Time to go to bed” moodboard and a “Morning Moodboard” on Pinterest.
In this post I will highlight a few of the pictures I’ve ‘pinned’ and why.

This slogan is the best motivator for me to go to bed on time. It’s the opposite of what I’m inclined to do. My habitual self keeps thinking that burning the candle at both ends works better, but when I think about the benefits of hitting the sack on a decent hour, I must admit they are pretty impressive:

  • feeling rested
  • feeling fit
  • not feeling guilty and groggy
  • accomplishing more each day
  • be more productive and positive

Nothing so luxurious and relaxing at the end of the day as to read a book in a freshly made bed…

I’d like to add that reading and then sleeping with my dog at my feet is also an attractive and sweet thought.

Fresh, clean sheets and a tidy bedroom (well aired and a little chilly) are indispensable as well.

Final tip:

Make your own moodboard on Pinterest for whatever you’d like to motivate yourself for:

  • losing weight
  • be a positive and loving person
  • becoming a good cook
  • meditating
  • establishing a dream
  • writing every day
  • reading every day

The possibilities are endless!

You could also print a few of your pictures and frame them or tape them to your wall with pretty Japanese masking tape. If you’re very crafty you could even make an online photocollage and have it printed.

Next post I will share with you some pictures of my Pinterest “Morning moodboard”; keep posted!

Please take a minute to leave a comment now, I’d really appreciate it!

Remember to sign up for the e-mail list or via rss!! Thanks for supporting me!

Peace!

Ester

You can also find me on: Facebook, Google +, Twitter or Pinterest

Benedict Project 4: Healthy routines

| Ester

Starting my new part-time job, I noticed my freshly implemented routines are starting to be shaken up little.
Time to get back on track, the Benedictine way!

One of the key-factors to getting back into the saddle, is going to bed on time every night! I say, going to bed on time every night!

That, and establishing new routines while ingraining the other ones.

If you are interested in learning about the daily routines of a Benedictine monk, you can check out the website of the Münster Schwarzach monastery, of which best-selling author, ‘spiritual guru’ and Benedict monk Anselm Grün is the financial manager*.

New routines to implement:

  • Tiny morning and evening meditation.

Nothing too big or lofty, or else I’ll easily slip into austrich mode. Starting small, spending 5 minutes in my meditation room, taking it easy. In my busy life, it’s so easy to get carried away by all the hustle and bustle. That’s why I’m taking time to stop, think, pray, BE STILL. My soul needs that kind of counteraction on a daily basis.

  • Social media-free Sunday (my resting day), on which I take time for my husband, pets, God and creativity or nature activities to charge up for the week ahead.

Routines to further practice:

  • going to bed early
  • getting up on time every morning
  • evening routine: no computer after 7.15/7.30 pm(start relaxing mode)
    • preparing for the day to come: clothes, check agenda, prepare bag and lunch. Flylady has invaluable advice for you on this as well.
    • clean for 15 min: do a quick tidy up of the house, feed the animals.

This way I hope to have time for more meditation and prayer in the evening, gain some balance and stay out of the claws of  ‘zombying out‘ on internet.

Let me know how you’re doing with the changes you’ve made or intended to make. Love to hear and learn from you!

Please take a minute to leave a comment now, I’d really appreciate it!

And if you like what you’ve read, go ahead and sign up for the e-mail list or via rss!! Thanks for supporting me, it means a lot…
love and peace,
Ester
You can also find me on: Facebook, Google + or Twitter.
*cellarar

the Benedict Project 2: Going to bed on time

| Ester

After two weeks of attempting to get up early, I learned three things:

  1. I am powerless over snoozing and getting up late in general and I can only ask God to take it away from me
  2. it helps if I go to bed 9 hours before I have to get up
  3. it is about progress, not perfection (it does NOT help to beat myself up over it)

It humbled me to experience, that not everything I put my mind to is happening the way I want it too. I have to follow God’s guidance .

Hearken continually within thine heart, O son, giving attentive ear to the precepts of thy master [God]*

I will accept myself, but I will strive for more anyway. Gretchen Rubin puts it like this:

Although I have not yet succeeded in getting up early in the morning, I gained some valuable insights and I will continue to press on, adding a second goal: going to bed on time in the evening.

I’ve been having a great conversation with a reader the past weeks, who made some clever suggestions to make going to bed easier:

  • a 20-30 minute walk before sleep/ shut down the computer at 8:30 pm
  • no more snacks/cookies in the evening
  • drinking a decaffeinated cup of tea

I’d recommend herbal tea with chamomile, lavender or valerian, like Pukka’s Night time blend… Coffee is definitely a no-go for me!

My idea is to make the time before I go to bed an unwinding, closing ritual, inspired by the Benedictine Monks.

5 pm**: the monks have their sunset evening prayer service called Vespers

6 pm: dinner in silence while one monk reads something from Scripture or other literature

7-8 pm: Benedict prescribes the silent reading of ‘edifying literature’ in the evening by the monks in their cells (rooms).

8 pm: End of the day-prayers are said: Compline.
Afterwards Great Silence is observed: everybody goes to their rooms and is completely silent.

What speaks to me about the monks’ ritual is that they stick to a fixed bedtime, which is part of their daily ‘order’ or schedule. What also appeals to me is the strict application of silence in the Benedictine routine.
I’d love to experience in my own life the kind of freedom those ‘restrictions’ must give in the mind and the body.

Keeping all this wisdom in mind, I’ve come to a proposition for myself for this week, which I hope to develop into an evening ritual.

  • EAT 6:15 pm dinner. Note: after dinner: no computer!!
  • READ 6:45 pm Bible reading and prayer with my husband (my ‘Vespers‘)
  • CLEAN 7:00 pm cleaning up: 15 minutes kitchen and 15 minutes tidying the living room
  • FREE 7:30 – 8:30 pm free time to: hang out with husband and animals, read, take a luxury bath, call a friend, write a letter, drink herbal tea, listen to classical music…
  • PREPARE 8:30 pm prepare lunch and backpack for next day, pick clothes for next day, look at my appointments, feed the rabbits / tidy their cages
  • WALK 9:00 pm walk the dog (unhurried and in gratitude of the day)
  • CLEAN ME 9:30 pm wash, put on pj’s, write in 1-sentence journal
  • PRAY 9:50 pm short prayer and 5 minutes of silent meditation in my ‘meditation room’: my ‘Compline‘. I hope to expand the prayer and meditation in the future, but I want to start small to create a habit.
  • SLEEP 10 pm: in bed and eyes closed ;-). The Great Silence has begun!

I need 9 hours sleep nowadays, so this means I will be able to get up at 7am if I’ll stick to my bedtime routine.

For inspiration, I have composed a ‘Morning Moodboard‘ and a ‘Time To Go To bed-Moodboard’  at Pinterest.

Let me know your proposed evening ritual and let’s encourage each other for 1,5 week to stick to it and share our experience in the comments.

Please take a minute to leave a comment now, I’d really appreciate it!
And if you like what you’ve read, go ahead and sign up for the e-mail list or via rss!! Thanks for supporting me, it means a lot…
love and peace,
Ester
You can also find me on: Facebook, Google + or Twitter.

p.s.: If you want to read more about this topic: Gretchen Rubin just happened to write the post: ‘I can never go to bed on time!’, featuring an awesome video.

* Rule of Benedict: Prologue

** the times of the day vary a little in each monastery but are the same each day.