Mixed Bag Of Rant

In an effort to revitalize my blog as well as force me to be more creative with my writing, I have decided to participate in the January 2013 NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month). The theme for the month is “Energy” which I love since I didn’t have much of it to finish off 2012. I cannot even explain how pumped and motivated I am for 2013! I am nothing but energy right now so this theme is perfect for me.

Without further ado, today’s writing prompt:

WHICH DAILY TASKS TAKE UP THE MOST OF YOUR ENERGY

1. Waking up
I never used to have a problem getting up in the morning until I had a kid. Regardless of whether or not the 4 year old sleeps all night, I still wake up at least a couple times for a glance at the monitor to make sure he’s okay. It takes all of my energy to drag my ass out of bed in the morning. The only cure? Coffee. And lots of it.

2. Commuting 
There is nothing that beats me down more than driving to work. If I have had 4 hours or 8 hours of sleep, driving to work absolutely zaps me of my energy. Loud music does not help. Neither does my road rage. Taking the bus has helped; however, the bus clientele does not (this is an entire post on its own).

3. Boring Mindless Projects
There is nothing that sucks up more of my mental energy than boring, lame mindless projects. Are they a necessary part of just about anyone’s job? Yup. For example, cleaning out your email. UGH! Why can’t I just organize it right away than let it pile up?? I recommend a thumping Pandora station to get through it.

My sweet sleeping boy

4. Putting The Kid To Bed
This one should really top the list. Is there anything that sucks more of your energy than the endless nagging to get your kid to go to bed? The following are repeated numerous times:

• Time to go get jammies on. 
• Let’s go brush your teeth. 
• Go potty one more time. 
• Diego or Dora? 
• Sit down and watch your one episode of Diego/Dora please. 
• No, you can’t watch two Diego/Dora’s
• What are reading books on tonight: Nook, iPad or regular books? 
• Just one more book. 
• No you cannot have any water. 
• No you do not need a bandaid for your nonexistent finger wound. 
• I promise. I sprayed the monsters under your bed and they are gone. 
• Yes, I will turn on your light saber night light.
• Close your eyes and go to sleep, Jack.
• Yes, I will stay with you. 

And once ALL of those things are done, I stay with him until he falls asleep and I fall asleep. I usually wake up confused and uncertain of how long I was passed out or if he passed out before or after me. All thoughts of ambition post child bedtime are usually gone because I have now entered in the world of complete exhaustion and watching Soaps suddenly seems like a much more valuable way to zone out than running 3 miles on my treadmill. I then read the book, “Go The Fuck To Sleep” and feel better knowing that I am not alone.

5. Other People’s Drama
I love my family and friends with my entire heart and soul. I will always, ALWAYS listen to their problems and be there for them. Always. (ALWAYS). Did I say always? However… I’m not going to deny that it drains me. Depresses me. Sucks the energy out of me. I know I’m not perfect and not every day is going to be full of positive energy and roses for me- those are the days when I look to my team (a.k.a. my friends and family) to help pick me up. I’m sure I suck the life out of them sometimes too. This is why one of my resolutions in 2013 is to be a more positive and happy person. I fully believe in the book The Secret (and you should read it if you haven’t)- it teaches the power of positive thinking and how by being positive, good things are naturally attracted to you.

There you have it, my top five energy suckers.

So tell me, what daily things suck the life and energy out of you every day? How do you fight back?