So Lethargic

[flop]

please excuse this vent - I'm feeling so frustrated.

Today is the first day of a holiday from work for me. I'm not going off on holiday (well maybe will get to visit some relatives in York later on) just using up my annual leave entitlement and hoping to get my flat sorted out a bit. I know I can't do major jobs but all I need to do is sit and sort through the vast amount of accumulated paperwork that I have got. My sister moved in with me recently and is very frustrated that she can't find the sofa to sit on as it has disappeared under a mountain of post. I used to be super organised and tidy and have let things slide into a terrible mess by just putting things down. I need to get a system in place and throw out loads of stuff.

My sister has already rough-sorted the papers into groups (eg bank statements and credit-card bills in one file box, hospital letters in 2 or 3 file boxes).

The goal for today was to take the finance box, throw away all of the envelopes and put the statements into date order and not which ones were missing. For a normal person that is perhaps 2 hours work sitting at a desk - hardly exhausing work.

As I am on holiday I didn't set an alarm but let myself have a lie-in. I did wake up mid-morning and had something to eat and read through some of the posts on here for a while (on my laptop in bed) but then had no energy to even sit up in bed. My sister eventually forced me to sort out a weeks worth of meds and drag myself out of bed mid-afternoon. We did manage to get to the supermarket (by about 7pm) but had to have dinner in the pub before I could face actually doing the shopping. I nearly fell asleep into my plate of food and was repeatedly told that I was staring into space. I seriously considered not doing the shopping and just driving home again as I was so wiped out. The shopping itself was ok as we only needed about 10 items.

How can my body let me push it into getting through the day at work but just give-up on me when it comes to things at home? It isn't like I've had a hard week at work, we've had lots of educational sessions and no overtime.

Grrrrr, feeling very "flop" at the moment!

[MightyMouse]

I know it's no fun to feel so sluggish when you actually have some time to yourself... and I sure to empathise with the overwhelming sense one gets from being disorganized! If you saw my bedroom closet, you'd understand. I can't find much in there. Maybe once or twice a year, I get it perfect...but it only lasts until the next load of clean wash comes upstairs and I dump it on the floor of the closet b/c I need the basket for dirty clothing and I'm too tired to put everything away.

I try to do something to improve the situation every day, even if it's a little thing. Today I sorted through a pile of manuals, letters, statements and bills--some was put through the shredder and the the rest was either recycled or filed in a better place than a pile on a desk. The "to do" list seems to never end. The closet at least has a door on it that I can shut!

I hope you get a good night's rest--eat some good healthy meals and perhaps your body will bounce back. I do find that if I take vitamin B-6 and magnesium supplements, seem to have slightly more energy. That, and I MUST have one cup of coffee in the morning (that's all the caffeine I usually require).

Nina

[flop]

Nina,

I certainly know about the clean clothes problem. I gave up ironing quite a while ago and usually wear whatever looks least creased. I'm quite good at doing the laundry and hanging it up on the drying rack. Next time I have a load of wet washing the dry lot gets chucked in a heap, usually on my bedroom floor - if only I had the drawers organised, even just allocating an "underwear drawer" to dump socks etc in would be a start.

I get the impression that my sister isn't going to tolerate my disorganisation so if I want her to stay (and I certainly need her help) I'm going to have to get everything tidied up.

Sorry about the vent, I'm feeling frustrated that valuable time gets wasted lying in bed.

Flop

[lloppyllama]

I know how you feel to a degree, different situation though. Right now im re-doing my bedroom so that it is easier for me, healthwise, and its been quite a task for me! I do hardly any work and am already in need of rest, its quite daunting. Its like we feel like we should be able to do so much more than we really can, and then we feel like we are waisting time when we have things to do, even though we really need our rest. Its tough always being ill!!

Well good luck with your flat, and hopefully things get organized and your sister is happy with the situation again!

[cardiactec]

hey flop,

so sorry you're having a rough time. you said "How can my body let me push it into getting through the day at work but just give-up on me when it comes to things at home? It isn't like I've had a hard week at work, we've had lots of educational sessions and no overtime."

-- My guess would be that probably you have to gear up your body to push through work because you know it is more a priority, something that NEEDS to be/get accomplished, something that 100% CANNOT be put off, and maybe even perhaps because you enjoy your job so much ........................when you finally get a break away from the reality that YOU MUST get through a work day/week and you finally have a break, your body probably just crumbles because you realize that perhaps all else in life, aside from your type of work, that some things might not seem as much a priority -- so maybe you feel you can let things slide more and really start listening to your body more than your schedule -- so you can give your body the break that is probably has been screaming for throughout work days/work week....

I know for me, when I have a day off, I crash. I love my job so much that I tend to push through the symptoms, acknowledging that they are there, but fight them off as much as possible, to try and do what I love the most. some days it's not as easy, but I know it is priority and A MUST for me to carry out my work, because I both love it, and because financially I'd crumble without it! lol. I know there are things that I should get done when I do have days off, but I always put them on back burner because I know ultimately it wont completely throw my world upside down if i dont get to it - so i tend to listen to my body more these days...........plus, the things I NEED to do on days off like laundry, cleaning, studying arent necessarily things I LOVE to do, so to kick my mind and body into gear to do these things when my body tells me to rest is more difficult ..........

the work week, though not busy you said, still probably "caught up" with you and realizing that shopping and/or organizing papers wouldnt get you ''in trouble'' with your employer, or cause some chaotic event to occur as it might at work if you did not physically DO something, your body probably just felt some relief from tasks you do at work that are considered a must or mandatory, that cannot be put off, and thus just wanted to simply rest. .....

REST indeed, flop. listen to your body and take a break. the rest can wait.

take care,

Angela.

[yogini]

I laughed when I read your post. I throw all of my mail, receipts, etc. in a box (or more than one box). Every once in a while, I get a big burst of energy and sort out everything. It usually isn't as bad as it looks, b/c it is mostly junk. Of course even as soon as I've cleaned it up, it piles up again almost immediately! I hope you find the time and energy to do something fun during your time off.