Feeling the darkness, what to do.

Tuesday night, 10 PM

For the first time since I started updating regularly again, it's the night before a weekday and I don't have a draft post prepared for the morning. I do have two drafts sitting in my list of posts, but one is rather long and involved and not ready to post just yet, and the other is a "space holder" post about an activity I haven't done yet, but that I intend to write about once I do.

I didn't do much writing today. Instead, I finished two projects and kept the kids alive while sporadically reading the internet and watching Korean dramas on Netflix. (They can be seriously addictive, though most have pretty much the same plot.)

I'm starting to feel the pressure of the holidays and the gloom* that normally sets over me after daylight savings time ends for the year. It doesn't help that instead of taking a vacation I've spent the last however many weeks more or less trapped in my house. I'm nowhere near finished with Christmas shopping, and I've not wrapped a single gift. Trying to keep up with the housework and failing miserably is always a drain on my energy.

So. What to do. I decided to make myself a little list of things that I could do every day to make myself feel a little bit better. (These are in addition to things I already do, like take my pills consistently and see my doctor as needed, keep up on bottles and diaper changes, try to get the kids to nap, etc. This list is unique to me and my household and should not be considered instructions or recommendations for anyone other than myself.)

1. Make coffee first thing in the morning and drink at least two cups before trying to accomplish anything.

2. Unload the dishwasher and reload it right away; run it as soon as the top rack is full.

3. Try to clear off as much of the kitchen counter as possible.

4. Drink another cup of coffee while facing the window, if it's finally light out.

5. Sit on the floor while trying to pick up toys. Try to get at least the duplos put away 3 times a day. Then sweep.

6. Make a meal plan and stick to it. Now that Maggie's eating people food, I need to make breakfast, lunch and snacks for both her and Sam, as well as myself, and get ready to make dinner for Dan, Sam, and me. This is much easier to do if I've thought about what I'll prepare before the kids are screaming at me.

7. Spend less time at the laptop. This is going to be a difficult one, but I can always use my phone if I really need an internet fix.

8. Spend more of the time at the laptop writing, rather than reloading Facebook and Google Reader. It'll all be there when I'm done.

9. At night, shower and decide what to wear the next day so I'm not hunting for it in the dark at 6:20 AM.

10. Reference this post when I forget what I'm supposed to be doing to make my day better.

*I have much more to say about the topic of depression and seasonal affective disorder (SAD). This post is only about where I'm at now, which is in a period of mostly remission with careful management.