Surviving One Day at a Time

Despite an illness that has left me breathless, lethargic, and my nose leaks faster than the Harry Potter book over the internet, I still manage to stumble from the heat of my bed in an attempt to lead a normal day. There’s nothing worse than sleeping till midday – it stuffs up sleeping patterns till you really don’t care what time of day it is. Bad really, particularly when you have a regime of pills to take every four hours.

This morning I’ve read John Wesley’s post at Pick the Brain that outlines the easiest ‘3 step routine for creating energy that lasts all day’. I’m guessing it’s not aimed at those who aren’t well and are lacking energy to move. OK, so I hurl (ohh, bad word) myself from the bed to reach the bathroom, but that’s where I draw the line. The phone rings, cool, it’s within arm’s distance. Need a drink? Fixed. One litre jug of water nearby. Food. Well, it wouldn’t stay down long, so why bother?

John is spot-on-the-money, and correct. Having a great day needs a regular routine that you stick with. Not hard. Even when ill. Which is why I still manage to wake up early, take two pain-release tablets, slurp down a half-size cereal breakfast. Exercise involves tickling a cat chin or two (because I know they love it), walking the length of the house ranting about how much more space these cats really need. As for swinging my shoulders and doing a silly step dance – that only happens if a cat ‘crosses the T‘ with my legs. Darn cats. I love ’em, but some days…

I agree that a small amount of exercise to get the blood flowing will remind you that you are alive and not just a lump of square meat in front of a computer. Eating after the exercise keeps the body happy and the batteries fully charged. The few times I’ve eaten BEFORE I exercised, my stomach has strongly-objected to the previous evenings meal and the newly ingested cereal. Not a pretty sight!

But don’t take my word for it. Read John’s story, and the comments that have followed.