DECOMPRESS
M. Hi. Need to decompress
C. Sure. What’s up? What’s on your mind?
M. I’m angry
C. Why?
M. I didn’t get much done and I stayed up late binge watching Netflix and it took me a long time to fall asleep because I was tense. I ended up having to get out of bed at around 2am to write my to do list, journal what was on my mind, and tidy up the kitchen. Fortunately, I then was able to fall back asleep.
C. Okay. So, let me get this right. You’re angry because you felt you didn’t get as much done yesterday as you would have liked and because you didn’t follow your pre-sleep routine, right? Anything else?
M. Yeah, that’s right. I’m also angry because I ate late and weighed more than I wanted to. I have been working out and was making progress but because I ate too many protein bars late I weighed a lot more than I wanted to. It felt like because of my lack of discipline I erased all the weight and fat loss progress I had made.
C. Okay. I can understand how this might be disappointing. Given this, what would you like to do differently?
M. I’d like to do a better job of drinking more water. I hardly drank any water yesterday. I think this helps with minimizing hunger late night. I also can chew gum. And, maybe have some tea or broth. I’m trying to do IF, so need to stop eating after 8 pm.
C. So, in other words, you’d like to be more consistent about following your evening routine, right?
M. Yes, especially on the weekends. I started watching a really good new series on Netflix and ended not getting to bed after midnight on Friday and Saturday.
C. Okay, so what might you do different moving forward?
M. I could find out how many episodes the series is and allocate my watching over several days and nights. I could also limit my watching from 7 to 10, and then put on some chill music and start my evening routine.
C. I think this is a very good idea. You have fortunately been sleeping a lot better this week and you overall did a good job with pre-sleep during the week. I agree it’s important to maintain that consistency over the weekend. Having said that, I also don’t think you need to beat yourself up over this.
M. Go on
C. Regarding the weight, keep doing your workouts. Plan out out your meals. Drink more water. Chew gum. Do deep breathing and stretching and maybe journal and update your to do list at around 8pm to set this as the transition point to start your fast and wind down.
M. I like that idea. I also like tidying up. I can change into my pajamas and maybe even take a warm shower around 9.
C. Good. Very good. Let’s plan on doing that tonight. Regarding the diet, stick to K today. Have two meals with lots of veggies, healthy fats, and fiber. Also, plan on drinking 100 ounces of water.
M. Okay will do.
C. I want to explore your anger around not getting much done yesterday.
M. I didn’t do any work yesterday.
C. Well you did work all week. I’m not saying that maybe you could have not gotten some work done yesterday but it was Saturday and there’s nothing wrong with taking a break. You did do another very strong workout to keep your streak going.
M. Yes, that’s true. I pushed myself to do this because I wanted to keep my streak going.
C. If you had to do yesterday all over again, what would you have done differently?
M. Well, I didn’t do my daily planning in the morning. I’m finding this is a very helpful way to make me more intentional about what I want and need to get done in terms of personal, business, and wellness actions. This would have helped me, for example, to have been more conscious about drinking water. Overall, I ate very healthy yesterday. I didn’t eat any junk food. Instead, I had lots of protein with salad. The problem was the late night eating of the protein bars that while low carb and high protein I ate only because I was anxious.
C. It’s great you understand this. Tell me more about the anxiety about work stuff.
M. I just feel overwhelmed sometimes. The DPO project is taking a lot longer than I anticipated and I still haven’t completed the SPM project. I’ve been putting that off for weeks.
C. Let me interrupt. You haven’t put it off. You haven’t procrastinated. It’s just that the DPO project has taken a lot longer. You’ve been putting in great effort on that project. That’s a big difference. It’s not like you’re slacking off TV or not working.
M. I guess, but on Thursday I mostly did personal stuff.
C. Yeah, you completely cleaned the house. You threw out a bunch of stuff and bought some storage items. The house looked great at the end of the day, right?
M. Yes, it did.
C. Decluttering the house helped declutter your mind, so this was very good use of your time.
M. It did feel good to have our home look clean and neat.
C. Want some advice on what to do today and tomorrow?
M. Please!
C. First, definitely, do your action planning this morning. I’d allocate a couple of hours to work on the DPO project. It’s mostly writing which you enjoy doing.
M. Okay
C. Do this this afternoon after you and N come back from eating lunch. Make sure to do something together today outside of the house.
M. Okay. Where should I work?
C. If you want to get out of the house, you can either do it while you’re out with N. Or you can do it in the kitchen while listening to some chill tunes. Or you can go to the vista point and work in your car.
M. All good options. What else?
C. Do your “Great Start” morning routine. Take a shower. Drink lots of water first thing. Then do your planning.
M. What about the ACI project?
C. My suggestion is that you dedicate 30-60 minutes to work on this today after you work on the DPO project. You can do this with the TV on in the background. I’d also email MM and DJ today. Also go to the ATM. Does this seem reasonable and doable?
M. Yes, it does.
C. Use tomorrow morning to work on the DPO and ACI projects. Have your meeting at noon as scheduled. Do your workout, then bring in your car to the shop. Make car rental arrangements today. Make sense?
M. Yes, it definitely does.
C. Was this helpful?
M. Very! Thanks so much. I now have a plan to get back on track.
C. Great. Have a great and loving day.
M. Thanks. You too.