Procrastination, Fatigue, Overwhelmed?

Let me begin this short thought piece with this clarification, which is you know your body better than anyone else.  Well, hopefully you do.  Maybe, there are some people that are not in touch with their bodies, so they are not sure when to rest and when to be active;  but, I fully believe one can learn to know.  Also, when in doubt, take baby steps and see how you feel.

Today, I have a job to do that I put off for

• when I wasn't tired.
• when I didn't have something more important to do.
• when I felt like it, which has nothing to do with how my body feels.

What I have found is putting off what needs to be done, just makes things worse.  Whether it is picking up in your house, cleaning, writing a letter, making a phone call, getting that new router up and running, filling your weekly pill container, or any other chore you can thing of, it helps to pick one job and start it with a small step.  One little step is the beginning to moving forward.

If I have hit a rocky road on my path to moving forward, I am still ahead of where I used to be, because I am building on the habits I had begun to establish.  Even if I have steps backwards, I can use the same method of baby steps to return to keeping my house clean, getting rid of clutter, or any other job that needs to be done.  Wallowing in guilt or failure is really not an option.  It just keeps me frozen.  I cannot wait until I feel "mentally" ready to get the job done.  The step seems to be the thing that has to come first for me;  then, the mental readiness gets easier.

This is written from my personal experience.  It is my opinion, and it is not meant to be a diagnosis for changing anything in anyone else's life.  I am simply sharing that by actually taking a small step to get something done, I am able to feel less overwhelmed.  Taking baby steps helps me to break the cycle of procrastination.  It encourages me to get moving and to move forward in my life.

I hope small steps will help you move forward too.

Focus and Distraction: Managing Mine

Focus and Distraction:  do those words feel familiar?  Oh yes, I purposely used the word "feel", because I
have been dealing with this today, yesterday, the day before, etc., etcetera.  I feel sure you understand, and I realized it is making me more fatigued than I need to be.  The neat thing is that God answered prayer for me today;  and in the doing of following His path for me, I am finding direction.

One of the things that has been bothering me is having five blogs and two Facebook pages.  For someone that has ME/CFS among other illnesses that sounds plain crazy.  And maybe, I was feeling a little guilty:  it's the perfectionist thing kicking in.  I can't spread myself around that much.


I was wondering how I got myself into this, and I remembered that I was called.

Today, God helped me to see that by answering a prayer for me.  (He tells us in the Bible to bring all our cares and anxieties to Him.)  This afternoon, the answer was in the things I read, and I it was also brought to me by a member on one of my Facebook pages.  I am thankful God cleared up my lack of focus and the distractions with which I've been dealing;  moreover, I am absolutely amazed at how the picture of what I'm supposed to be doing is clearing up.  I feel as if I have been looking through a fogged window, and I now I can see the landscape before me.

I feel relief.  With all that is in me, I am thankful to God.

Secondly, I have been wondering if I should combine blogs, go to Wordpress, get my own domain and combine blogs.  I have that answer for now.  And it goes along with the the acronym, KIS:  keep it simple.

1. It costs money to get your own domain -- can't do that one yet.
2. I am already here, and you know I am here.
3. Blogger is easy to use.
4. Why expend energy on changing something that works.
5. I can share the information for and from Chronic Fatigue and Creative Decluttering here. (Why does this feel like one of those "duh" moments?  After all, having enough energy to clean is something with which people with chronic illnesses struggle.)

I am not going to delete the other blogs, but I am not going to struggle with what to do with them anymore -- at least, not until I am led to do something different, if that ever happens.  This is my plan:

• The two main blogs are Learning to Balance Life Changes and Living Better With An Invisible Illness.  
• Learning to Balance Life Changes will continue to be about information on Fibromyalgia and ME/CFS; dealing with our health, our psychological balance, and our physical issues; and at times I am going to mention how spiritual issues affect our life (because that is who I am).  Also, I plan to incorporate more about the decluttering of our house, our lives, our bodies, as it comes.  Why?  Because these are issues with which many people deal -- not just those with chronic illness.
• Living Better With An Invisible Illness has become a mixture of a devotional blog, a book and blog review, as well as, sharing how art journaling can be a healing tool.
• Deborah Lynne's Inspirations is going to be mostly creative things that I share on Pinterest -- DIY, up-cycling  art, etcetera.  I haven' t had much time to do that lately, because I have been floundering.
• Saying Bye to Clutter is my photo journal for decluttering.  I don't post everyday.  I accumulate pictures, then I post.  This is a fun thing for me, and I am interested to see how I feel after having posted 365 days of clutter gone.  The inspiration to keep doing it is useful too.  
• Take Comfort has been a blog of short devotions, that I began to minister to those that cannot concentrate on long Bible studies and devotionals.  Occasionally, I will do a short Bible Study to add to the collection, but lately, my devotional writing has taken a trip to Living Better With an Invisible Illness.  For right now, I think I am supposed to do it that way.   

For now, that is it.  I will be reworking my links and pages during the next few days.  But right now, I need to give my derriere a rest.  I have been sitting too long.  Also, I have some decluttering to do.  I wonder if I could convince my husband hamburgers are a good idea tonight.  I forgot to defrost something for supper.

I love you all.  If this is too long, I am so sorry.  I have become very conscious about that lately, especially since I have been reading many blogs.  My brain can only seem to take in so much; but also, I don't think our eyes were meant to stare at a computer screen for hours at a time.  See you later.