One of *those* plans
(reference for those who have no clue what I'm talking about)
One of the things I've already started to struggle with as my days become less and less structured is my sleep/wake times. I naturally tend to lean towards being rather nocturnal, and my favourite bedtime is somewhere between 2 & 3am, but that means to be functional I really need to get up between 9 and 10. My best hours for sleep tend to be between 4am and 7am. Unfortunately, keeping this schedule doesn't really match well with the rest of the universe, including raayat. So I've been trying to stick to a more "normal" schedule going to bed around midnight and trying to get up around 7:30 or 8. This has not been going well (several mornings this week I've slept until 9 or even 9:30, and one night I had horrible insomnia), but I'm trying to stick with it. The weird thing is that this should not be difficult since it's essentially the same schedule I've been keeping for the last five years while working. Not entirely sure why, but the current favourite theory is that since my days are unstructured and certainly far from stressful or exhausting, and really consist of various chores plus lots of reading and more futzing around on the internet than is probably really good. In short, I'm not tired enough to force my body into a "normal" sleep cycle. And no, I'm not even going to *think* about an Ayurvedic schedule, which might kill me.
Hence, I think the answer is going to be more physical activity, which means I have no excuse not to have a daily yoga practice. I think my goal for the next few weeks is to ramp this up and try to maintain the process until Christmas. So my practice should start to look something like:
Week 1 - 19-25 Oct
Mon: 1.5 hour class with lovely N
Tue: 15 min self practice
Wed: 15 min self practice
Thur: 45 min class with lovely N
Fri: 15 min self practice
Sat: 30 min self practice (if no long walk; some gentle stretching and breathing if so)
Sun: 15 min self practice day of rest
Week 2 - 16 Oct-1 Nov
Mon: 1.5 hour class with lovely N
Tue: 30 min self practice
Wed: 15 min self practice
Thur: 45 min class with lovely N
Fri: 15 min self practice
Sat: 45 min self practice (if no long walk; some gentle stretching and breathing if so)
Sun: 30 min self practice day of rest
Week 3 & going forward until Christmas
Mon: 1.5 hour class with lovely N
Tue: 30 min self practice
Wed: 1.5-2 hour Mysore class
Thur: 15 min self practice
Fri: 30 min self practice
Sat: 45 min self practice (if no long walk; some gentle stretching and breathing if so)
Sun: 30 min self practice day of rest
Wish me luck!
Edited with minor tweaks based on advice, below and IRL
One of the things I've already started to struggle with as my days become less and less structured is my sleep/wake times. I naturally tend to lean towards being rather nocturnal, and my favourite bedtime is somewhere between 2 & 3am, but that means to be functional I really need to get up between 9 and 10. My best hours for sleep tend to be between 4am and 7am. Unfortunately, keeping this schedule doesn't really match well with the rest of the universe, including raayat. So I've been trying to stick to a more "normal" schedule going to bed around midnight and trying to get up around 7:30 or 8. This has not been going well (several mornings this week I've slept until 9 or even 9:30, and one night I had horrible insomnia), but I'm trying to stick with it. The weird thing is that this should not be difficult since it's essentially the same schedule I've been keeping for the last five years while working. Not entirely sure why, but the current favourite theory is that since my days are unstructured and certainly far from stressful or exhausting, and really consist of various chores plus lots of reading and more futzing around on the internet than is probably really good. In short, I'm not tired enough to force my body into a "normal" sleep cycle. And no, I'm not even going to *think* about an Ayurvedic schedule, which might kill me.
Hence, I think the answer is going to be more physical activity, which means I have no excuse not to have a daily yoga practice. I think my goal for the next few weeks is to ramp this up and try to maintain the process until Christmas. So my practice should start to look something like:
Week 1 - 19-25 Oct
Mon: 1.5 hour class with lovely N
Tue: 15 min self practice
Wed: 15 min self practice
Thur: 45 min class with lovely N
Fri: 15 min self practice
Sat: 30 min self practice (if no long walk; some gentle stretching and breathing if so)
Sun: 15 min self practice day of rest
Week 2 - 16 Oct-1 Nov
Mon: 1.5 hour class with lovely N
Tue: 30 min self practice
Wed: 15 min self practice
Thur: 45 min class with lovely N
Fri: 15 min self practice
Sat: 45 min self practice (if no long walk; some gentle stretching and breathing if so)
Sun: 30 min self practice day of rest
Week 3 & going forward until Christmas
Mon: 1.5 hour class with lovely N
Tue: 30 min self practice
Wed: 1.5-2 hour Mysore class
Thur: 15 min self practice
Fri: 30 min self practice
Sat: 45 min self practice (if no long walk; some gentle stretching and breathing if so)
Sun: 30 min self practice day of rest
Wish me luck!
Edited with minor tweaks based on advice, below and IRL