7 Tips Overcome Sleep Deprivation & Wonkiness…

We flew back from California on the red eye this Sunday and my sleep has been a bit screwy.

I had a hard time falling asleep.  Baby M stayed insisted I take the mattress off of her crib and put it on the floor so she could sleep on it.  (She pointed to the matress screaming “OFF OFF!”)  Around 10:00 she probably rolled off of it and began crying.  I scooped her up and put her back in our bed (I KNOW, IT’S A MISTAKE)

I have a web series to produce, a cranky actor to deal, a crisis with a key member of my team…and what the heck is for dinner?

Since I’ve been hit with many many sleepless nights, I decided I had to come up with some rules of how to deal with it or I shall lose my mind.  I’ve found that “giving up” and “losing my mind” doesn’t really help anyone.  Neither does bucking up and just steam rolling through.  There has to be a happy medium.

1.  Acknowledge that changes with your kid’s schedule is bound to screw things up.  Plan for it.  I knew Baby M’s schedule would be a wreck when I came back.  Mentally I prepped myself for it.  I didn’t plan any rehearsals or meetings for this week.  The goal was to make sure Baby M has a consistent week of Mom time.  This is better for all of us.

2.  When in a major major pinch, there is Thomas The Train, Elmo etc.  I’ve taken Baby M out of daycare because I want to spend more time with her.  It’s a bit of a transition because I spend more time with her.  On nights I have no sleep, I must get SOME rest.  There is time to plop on the couch and rest while Baby M watches some TV.  This is NOT ideal, but sometimes absolutely necessary.

3.  Exercise.  I always feel a lot better when I either walk, run or do weights.  A new yoga studio has opened up in my hood and I’ve committed myself to do yoga everyday.  

4.  Meditate  A perfect way to combat the mind junk and stress.  Sometimes you can even fall asleep when you meditate.  This means you are probably very tired.

5.  Create an evening ritual.  I don’t really have an evening ritual but I’ve decided to reinstate one.  In a way it’s telling yourself that you are to be taken care of and resting your mind and soul are vital.  Ritual is defined as: an established or prescribed procedure for a religious or other rite.  For all my joking and smart assery, I don’t believe it’s far fetched to treat yourself in a reverent way.
Here is my [re-established] ritual:

Plan next day
Meditate
Shower
Writing Gratitudes

6.  DO NOT LOOK AT THE COMPUTER AT NIGHT.  This was my mistake last night.  I probably could have gone to sleep a lot earlier. 

7.  Be gentle to oneself.  Instead of saying what you SHOULD be doing or how you SHOULD be sleeping, just be curious and kind to yourself as you would a friend.  No need to self castigate.  In fact, a warm bath, aromatherapy and a nice pair of pajamas might make sleep more fun.

Sleep is one of the best anti-aging and anti-depressant remedies.  It’s one of the most important things for our mental and physical health.  Unfortunately as parents, it’s seen more of a luxury.  It’s not a luxury, it’s a necessity and it’s important to remember that in order to be a good wife, husband, mother, father, doctor, steamfitter, taxi driver, politician, etc you have to take care of yourself.  And if that means hanging out on the couch for a little bit to catch some Z’s…so be it.

May 14, 2008

Been a bit busy and also a tad blue. I’m definitely getting bigger and it’s been an extra effort to walk around.

The class with Israel and the Columbia students is ending and I’m a bit bummed about that. They were a rare and terrific group to work with. Sometimes with other screenwriters people can be competitive nor offer very constructive crit. This was not the case in this class. The writers were very smart, compassionate and earnestly wanted other people to improve their scripts. I mentioned it to one of the students and he agreed that it was a special class.

With the class ending, I’m definitely enrolling in a writing class during the day so I can stay on top of things. I want to have a reading next week. We’re also getting a Mac so I can finish up the projects I keep talking about. Honestly, it’s also because J really wants to get a Mac desktop.

Found an interesting article about Jennifer Dundas who is in Crimes Of The Heart on Broadway:
http://www.broadway.com/gen/Buzz_Story.aspx?ci=561894
Apparently she is an actress/ice cream shop owner. Very cool.

April 6, 2008

Today I’m exhausted. If I were a mac computer, I’d be in “sleep” mode right now.

April 4, 2008

I did not feel well today. I’m finding that having a full day of activity one day leaves me slightly incapacitated the next.

I did a little research for this movie I’m supposed to be in which deals with adoption. I’ve read blogs about women who infertile and how they go through the struggle of trying to conceive. One actually showed the needles and vials they used. Another blog talked about how she had 5 miscarriages. I’ve complained a lot about how bad I’ve been feeling, but I’ll stop that now. (The above comment “I did not feel well today”was not a complaint but an observation)

April 2, 2008

Today was a restful day and yet there were cool developments:

I got a callback for a job that would be shooting in a few weeks. It shoots for a week so if I booked it, that would be nice.

Hoping to get the commercial I had the callback for yesterday. Crossing fingers.

Just got an email from my modeling agency that I’m hold for a print job next week.

Today I sat on my couch, I did research on one person shows and wrote a few pages.

I had a discussion with SR today about frustrating managers/agents. She ranted about how frustratingly apathetic her agents seemed about her career. It’s understandable but I reminded her that these agents aren’t holding our hands but they were giving us opportunities to build our careers.

Illin’

12:40 PM

Still not feeling so hot.

I spoke to my manager and she said that casting director thought I was “great” but they didn’t think they needed me and they had someone in mind. She told me that nothing is definite and she’s heard that before and then they booked her client. She also said that I should feel good because the casting director took a big risk in having me meet with the producer and director of the show.

I was bummed because I REALLY wanted it. It would’ve been great for my career and I was eager to be on set for a whole month. At the same time, I have these bad days (like today) where I just want to stay in bed all day. That said, if I booked it, I would do it come hell or high water. 😀

I wrote 5 pages of the feature and it feels a lot better than the hodge podge script I had earlier.