The Plan (at least for now)

As I sit here less than a week before the most intense experience of my life begins, I can't help but feel a wee bit anxious about how this is going to all play out. I am in class or clinical physically 26 hours a week, I'm teaching yoga about 6 hours a week and doing all the other stuff that one must do to stay alive and well (eating, sleeping, showering). I also have a husband I would like to spend some time with once in a while, plus friends that I miss terribly when school is in session.

Usually when I feel this way, I make a list or some kind of plan and I usually feel instantly better. So, if you want to take a little peak into my world, here's how it's going to pan out (in theory):

Mondays
8:00-11:00 Med/Surg lecture
11:00-12:45 Teach yoga
1:00-2:00 Go to hospital and select patient for the next day's clinical
2:00- 9:00 Prep for clinical/study
9:00-11:00 Bedtime routine

Tuesdays
6:30-3:00 Clinical (times vary, but this is the general range)
3:30-5:00 Teach yoga
5:00-9:00 Study
9:00-11:00 Bedtime routine

Wednesdays
8:00-11:00 Assessment lab
12:00-4:30 Skills lab
5:00-9:00 Study
9:00-11:00 Bedtime routine

Thursdays
9:00-12:00 Nursing theory/history class
12:00-1:00 Lunch on campus
1:00-4:00 Communication class
4:00-6:00 Pharmacology
6:00-9:00 Study
9:00-11:00 Bedtime routine

Fridays
7:30-9:00 Teach yoga
9:00-12:00 Date with husband (run in the park, then breakfast and lounging around)
12:00-7:00 Study
7:00-10:00 HAVE FUN (someone please call me to hang out!)

Saturdays
9:00-10:00 Run in the park
10:00-5:00 Study
5:00-10:00 HAVE FUN

Sundays
9:00-10:00 Run in the park
10:00-9:00 Study
9:00-10:00 ME TIME (time to do things like pluck eyebrows, paint toenails, do a facial, etc...)

So, as you can see...that is one hairy scary schedule. At best, hubby and I will have one date per week, and will only be sleeping in the same bed at the same time on Tuesdays and Thursday nights. Speaking of bed, I have vivid memories of having horrible sleep patterns during A&P...I would dream about bones and all kinds of things...wake up in the middle of the night thinking about the sphenoid. Not fun.

So, I am going to really try to stick to a Bedtime Routine in hopes it will alleviate my stress so I can have some good z's. The general plan is to do a Callanetics video or some mellow yoga from 9:00 to 9:40-ish, followed by a soak in the tub and then a half hour of pleasure reading in bed. My goal is to be LIGHTS OUT at 11:00 every night. And, thanks to this amazing meditation application on my iPod, I am zonking out faster than I ever have in my life. It's called "Meditate Now"...check it out if you have trouble falling asleep!

OK, so that's my Plan for dealing with the crazy schedule while trying to squeeze in a little bit of "normalcy" here and there. It only has me studying 43 hours a week, which technically isn't enough but we'll see how it goes and adjust from there. The rule of thumb is to study 2-3 hours for every hour you're in class, but that would have me studying 52 hours a week at the minimum and I'm not sure I can get by with that little of sleep.

Stay tuned...I'll let you know how it pans out!