Up at 4:30 as usual, coffee ready, and assessing the steepness of the day's mountain to be climbed. It won't be too taxing today since I have a appointment with the sleep doctor - maybe something for sleep - and my husband will drive. If the day's activities feel like slogging up a steep road, I dump what isn't essential and set the timer for the other activities. The morning dishes are a 6 minute commitment - I can do 6 minutes. Energy management is the organizing factor in my life. No longer do I "suck it up" to get something accomplished without assessment of the consequences.
Tessa, I missed seeing this a couple of weeks back. "Energy management is the organizing factor of my life" -- I think many chronic illness patients would be nodding their heads in agreement. Keep writing, I'd like to hear more from you.
Hi Tessa, I “sucked it up” all my life and I guess there’s a limit. I was also only half awake all those times. Then dishes would take me twelve minutes instead of six, for example, or a glass would break… It made my life harder when fighting sleep. I’ve been diagnosed for 10 years and for the last two I’ve been less stubborn, more sensible, and more fair to myself. I’m less irritable when I get rest between tasks. I’m glad my kids are grown and finally behaving!
Be fair to yourself...great advice, Carol! You would think this is too obvious to comment on, but not really. After years of always putting others needs ahead of my own, I finally took to heart the "oxygen mask on the airplane" analogy - put my own on first or I might not stay conscious to help the others. If I'm bad shape because I neglect myself, how can I be the mom, wife, or friend I'd like to be. This is hard enough with narcolepsy- don't make it harder!
Obvious, and resonating. The oxygen mask is easy to remember, it’s a visual. Thanks Tessa1946 
Amen!
Tessa: This, I thought I was the only one in the world that had to think about the tasks of the day and the minutes it would take me to do them and then telling myself I can handle those few minutes. It seems like I can do a task for about 15 minutes and then I have to rest for 30....gets frustrating sometimes, but hey, it's the only way I can get things done. Guess we have to keep on keeping on. This site is helping me tremendously with that. Hope we can chat sometime.