May Monthly Post

[ysabetwordsmith]

This is the May community post for allbingo. What were your bingo activities during April? What are your plans for May?

For April we had:
Genderplay Bingo Fest hosted by zaniida
Explore different perspectives of gender and expression.
Posting will be April 1-30.

For May we will have:
Leaky Pipeline Bingo Fest hosted by  ysabetwordsmith 
This fest explores how minorities get shut out of society.
Posting will be May 1-31.

Comments

Re: Go you!

[ysabetwordsmith]

*hugs offered* I'm sorry that things have been so chaotic.

Re: Go you!

[siberian_skys]

Thank you. Hugs accepted. It's mostly on me. It's just a lot and I don't feel like dealing with it. I've been trying to go back to dealing with a little bit at a time.

Re: Go you!

[ysabetwordsmith]

Some thoughts:

* Consider doing drabbles, haiku, or other small fills. We have a "Diamonds and Dynamite" Achievement for such.

* Try to break big tasks or problems into smaller pieces.

* Aim for a healthy diet with as much fresh food as possible. It's good self-care and boosts energy. Eating junk because it's convenient will exhaust you.

* Use coping skills to reduce stress and refresh energy.

Coping with Stressful Situations
https://ysabetwordsmith.dreamwidth.org/10835042.html

Self-Care Links
https://ysabetwordsmith.dreamwidth.org/10861956.html

Emotional First Aid
https://ysabetwordsmith.dreamwidth.org/10976564.html

Re: Go you!

[siberian_skys]

Between my less than stellar diet and lack of sleep I'm sure I'm not helping myself one bit.

I have done drabbles and double drabbles to make fills, but I've never done a haiku for that purpose--I don't think. I've also got several series that fit with the prompts. That's what I've been working on. I just somehow got myself way behind. I think I just got lazy. I haven't been reading recently either. I think I got over zealous and then lost it.

Thanks for the links.

Re: Go you!

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> Between my less than stellar diet <<

Don't try to change everything at once. Focus on small, sustainable changes. Some easy improvements:

* Use whole grains instead of refined grains. Granola bars, muesli, oatmeal, and multigrain bagels or sandwich bread are easy swaps. Popcorn is a whole grain and you can flavor it with anything!

* Fermented foods give you friendly microbes. Yogurt, sauerkraut, and aged cheese are easy examples. Raw live vinegar is great for salad dressing if you like salads; combine with a full-flavor olive or other oil. These are dose-sensitive per culture not per volume, based on my experience; a craft yogurt with 5 cultures is way more helpful than a commercial yogurt with 1-2 cultures.

* Fresh live food, or food slain immediately before eating, is good for health and energy. Most fresh fruit can be eaten raw as a snack, as can some vegetables like carrots or celery sticks. Sprouts are extra potent and come in mild (alfalfa, clover) or zesty (radish, mustard) flavors.

* Try to stock some healthy snacks such as granola bars, loose granola mix, powerballs, fruit, yogurt, etc. so you don't grab junk because it's quick and you're exhausted. Make it easy to do the right thing and hard to do the wrong thing.

Try to eat at least one healthy, energy-boosting thing a day starting with whatever seems the easiest swap for you. For more ideas:

https://www.eatthis.com/foods-all-day-energy

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/diet-nutrition/g25017676/foods-improve-mood

https://adaptogens.com/c-667.aspx

>> and lack of sleep I'm sure I'm not helping myself one bit. <<

Same here, try to think of one or two easy changes. Do you need a new pillow? At least a few minutes before bed without your face in a lit screen?

Some basic sleep hygiene ideas to try:
https://remrise.com/blogs/rise-well/sleep-hygiene-20-tips-to-get-better-sleep

Yoga nidra is a good practice, and you'll get benefits whether you stay awake or fall asleep doing it. This one is ideal if you have trouble turning your brain off enough to fall asleep, or you get bored waiting.

Also the entire archive of The Joy of Painting is online free. Bob Ross is great for relaxation and sleep.

>> I have done drabbles and double drabbles to make fills, but I've never done a haiku for that purpose--I don't think. <<

Any short form can work, I just listed a couple I'm familiar with. There are several in fiction and dozens in poetry.

>> I've also got several series that fit with the prompts. That's what I've been working on.<<

That's good.

>> I just somehow got myself way behind. I think I just got lazy. I haven't been reading recently either. I think I got over zealous and then lost it.<<

Well, laziness and carelessness are always possible, but given the state the world is in, I suspect outside chaos may be affecting you too. If you can pin down specific causes -- you're overcommitted and exhausted, other people keep helping themselves to your time, you don't have a quiet workspace, you forget to schedule time for writing, etc. -- those are things you could try to improve.

>>Thanks for the links.<<

I'm glad I could help. Problems that can be fixed with information are problems I can usually solve, or at least help solve.

Re: Go you!

[siberian_skys]

I am good about sleep hygiene. No screens in the bedroom, just recently bought a new pillow, try really hard to go to bed at the same time, take my Melatonain and I have a sound machine. For the longest time I was able to sleep. When I was younger I was an insomniac. That finally changed. I got a regular sleep schedule. But, recently I just can't sleep and if I can it's the wrong time of day. I go to bed and I'm so tired that I practically fall asleep on the couch. But, when I get to bed, I wake right up. It's weird. I managed to stay awake all day, so that's a start.

Re: Go you!

[ysabetwordsmith]

That really sucks. :(

Re: Go you!

[siberian_skys]

It's always something.