New Schedule, Who Dis?

It is well with my soul. I don't really want to describe what happened last night. But something interesting did happened. And a calmness and peace flooded my soul beyond any I have experienced before; as a result of what happened. I would love to always feel that way...hehehe Alas, that isn't how life works...LOL I could go into great detail about what it is I saw/experienced and how I responded to it. But I feel as though it was a moment for just my memory. I am only bringing it up in my journal to hopefully be a reminder someday that, although the sword may cut through the back of expectation, I should remain with Him always without any doubts about His Love. And I should always be grateful for what I receive from those I care most for. They may not always be with me. But cherishing who they are now, and then the memories we share after they're gone, is so important. And I should never expect more than what I receive. I'm not meant to have everything I think I want. With an attitude of gratitude, let's accept what is meant for us today. And reject what isn't! (Today's Vitamin G)

I don't know what it is, why it is, or if anyone else experiences this...but I often draw connections in my mind between stories I watch or read with the personal experiences I have with people I have a relationship with. It's kinda fun to see us playing a role in some epic story. I suppose some of the characters I see or read about remind me of someone important in my life. So it is as if I'm watching their life unfold in some fantastical or romantic fashion. I then place myself in the role of the sidekick...hehehe Likewise, I am reminded of myself in some characters. I play the lead role and I mentally invite friends and family to play the parts of the supporting characters in my own narrative. It probably sounds silly. But I do have that silly side of me. So, I love it!

So, I've evolved my routine and schedule a bit more...hehehe I've been trying to find that sweet spot where I can maximize the amount of time of I have in a day while still maintaining quality sleep and quality productivity. There isn't any point in having a greater amount of time if I'm just wasting it. If I'm not getting quality sleep, all of the extra time wouldn't be useful when I'm too tired to make good use of it...LOL Something I had been observing of late is that when there is a disruption in my schedule, it would throw me off for days...up to about a week or so. When my parents came in May, I decided to make some adjustments to my schedule and routine to accommodate their time here while still maintaining some of my most valued tasks...such as my devotional and prayer time. What I noticed is that by gradually adjusting certain things over a week or so ahead of time, I was able to alleviate or minimize the disruption during their visit. I was able to be more flexible, so to speak.

As I was beginning to plan my visit to California in July, I got to thinking about how I could apply this same principle to managing the somewhat drastic change in time zone. Jet lag is a very real struggle for most. I've experienced it myself as I have traveled to California before. After my trip to Indiana at the beginning of the month, I decided I would start to adjust my bed and wake up times to shift to something closer to Pacific Time in preparation for my upcoming trip in July. Now that I'm going to sleep around 1:30am Eastern and waking around 7:30am, I've noticed an extreme shift in my ability to be productive from 8am to around 12:30am. Then it hit me, I'm naturally a night owl...LOL The schedule I've been keeping for the past 23ish years is the American corporate schedule...LOL What began as an attempt to prepare for my trip to California is becoming the realization that I'm returning to my natural circadian rhythm.

For my trip, I'll likely be up and at 'em somewhere between 5 and 6am Pacific. And I'll be ready for bed around 11pm. I believe that will work really well for my time there and it will closely match what I'm current doing in my time zone. The travel days to and from will be slightly disruptive. However, I have planned some downtime around those days. On my way there, I'll arrive the day before the holiday. When I leave, the only thing I have planned the day before is church. I had thought about doing Disney on the holiday. Sure, the crowds will likely be a mess. But if I don't plan to ride anything, I would be fine. But then I got to thinking about how it will be nice to have a relaxing day of exploration instead. I also thought about doing Disney after church on Sunday. But then again, relaxing the day before traveling home seems to be the wiser choice there. Although I love to travel, I'm no longer a vacationer. I'm a go places and see places at a slow pace to embrace the value of the moment person now...hehehe I imagine people think I'm crazy to travel so far just to relax. But I see absolute no point in traveling to exhaust myself. In the past, I needed a vacation from my vacation...LOL This trip serves two primary purposes. Disney is neither of them. Being a tourist is neither of them. Being Greg hits both in the bullseye...hehehe

Primary purpose one is to spend time with Chérie. On Friday, we plan to go to Color Me Mine. And we may possibly explore the surrounding area. I hear it is lovely there and it would be nice to capture some of it through my lens...hehehe On Saturday, we plan to go to the Arboretum. With the possibility of it being warm, that is likely all we'll do on Saturday together. Which brings me to primary purpose two. I'd like to spend quite a bit of time writing while I'm there. I find myself too distracted at home to effectively write most of the time. I need to get to a point where I get out of my home and write. It's something I have been struggling with for just over a year. But while I'm in California, I'll be away from home for days! It will be a great opportunity to allow the words to flow...hehehe When I first moved here, I explored all the time. I was able to get out and write quite a bit. Last year,and so far this year, I haven't explored much. When I did, it was for a different purpose other than writing. It's kind of sad that I've gotten into this state. But I think my trip to California will jump start me once again. I'm okay if it requires me to travel to keep that spark alive. Now that my travel anxiety is gone, I look forward to trips like this one!

Back to my circadian rhythm for a moment. In my teenage and young adult years, I was most productive between 12 and 3am. I'd sleep from about 3am to somewhere around 6am. Sure, that isn't much sleep. But I was young and able to function really well on 3 hours of sleep. When I joined the corporate workforce in my career, I was forced to be productive from 8am to 5pm. 3 hours of sleep isn't ideal for me when I'm not allowed to stick to my schedule. It wasn't until September 2021 before I was able to actually sleep at night. It's a wonder how I have had a successful career...LOL I give God the credit for giving me strength all these years...hehehe When I was finally able to sleep at night, I had a drastic decrease in the number of hours I was awake. I was still forced to live by the 8-5 work schedule. My body and mind started to require 8 to 9 hours of sleep to cope with being so far off my circadian rhythm. So from the end of 2021 up until now, I slept a long time at night. Some would say that I was finally sleeping a normal person's amount of sleep. I don't disagree. However, taking a look at how productive I've been these past 10 or so days tells me that I have been on the wrong schedule for more than 2 decades...hehehe

Speaking of corporate work, I was taken off the new project...LOL I've been on the project less than 2 weeks and suddenly I was taking off of it. They didn't tell me why and I didn't ask. I don't actually care...hehehe I'm moving over to the new company in a few weeks. I suppose that might be part of the reason? But then again, the new project was for the new company. I learned a long time ago that business reasons are well outside of my control. So I don't sweat it anymore. I was a CIO at one time. I get that business decisions rarely take into account personal preference or anything. And they are rarely decided due to personal reasons. I just go with the flow now. I can't control what happens to me. I can only control how I respond to it.

I'm thinking about buying a MacBook Pro...hehehe I had a MacBook Air about 4 years ago. I sold it to my sister and bought a Mac Mini. I do like my Mac Mini. However, it is stuck on my desk. I don't always want to sit at my desk...hehehe I use my iPad a lot when I'm out and about or when I don't want to be stuck at my desk when home. But it doesn't work as well for what I do for writing and it definitely cannot do any of the software development I do. I can edit photos with it. But I cannot transfer photos from my camera when I'm on the go. I have to download the photos to my Mac Mini at home and wait for them to sync up before I can do anything with them on the iPad. In the past, I'd impulsively make such a purchase simply because I wanted to. I don't think like that anymore. I've researched what I would get if I commit to doing this. So I have picked out the right one. Now I just have to decide if it is a wise purchase. I can already tell it isn't an impulse. I've been sitting on this for a bit and I'm only just now journaling about it...hehehe I'd give my Mac Mini to my son as I wouldn't need two Macs. I could get a dock if I wanted to use the MacBook at the desk. He doesn't have a computer of any kind right now. So, that is something I am considering in this decision. Something else I'm considering is the timing. If I do end up getting one, I'd want it before my California trip. I could wait until after, I suppose. It isn't a requirement for this trip. That would a nice to have for more effective writing productivity over my iPad. This isn't like last year when I had to get a new car...LOL In that case, I had to decide quickly because my former car bit the dust...LOL

I got another book idea last night...hehehe I'd really like to get cracking on these ideas. They are books that want to be written. They're just waiting on me...