I learned this phrase from someone with chronic illness and depression. I've never been the type to languish in bed all day, but I found the concept useful. After my surgeries, and now in this confusing time, the zero days is something I cling to.
A zero day means you didn't even get your basic life tasks accomplished for the day. Everyone has a different level of zero, so you need to create your own definition, your own checklist. For me, the goal would be to expand my definition of zero.
Here's what my zero, and my zero plus, looks like.
First and foremost, feed the cats and make sure they have their medicine twice a day. Punkin is very vocal about her breakfast, so she's a built in reminder.
Next, make sure I have coffee and my water pill, followed by hot food and my supplements.
Shower and dress. I might not stay dressed all day, but I do dress. Hair washing is only every three or four days, and a struggle when I'm achey.
Scoop the cat box. Since I had foster cats downstairs, Harry won't use the basement box anymore. If I don't keep the upstairs box clean, he poops on the little rug next to it.
The dishes. Doing the dishes is my absolute must do. I missed that yesterday. There's clean dishes in the dishwasher, and three dishes and two drink glasses in the sink. That's a minus for me. I rarely miss doing the dishes, I hate stuff in my sink. I always wash the cats' plates though, twice a day.
Spread up the bed, put dirty clothes in the hamper/basket. Do laundry as needed, fold it and put it away. Not daily, but something to not let get out of hand.
Mail. Bring in and sort the mail. Throw away the junk immediately. Deal with the rest usually takes me a day or three.
Bring in the stupid newspaper. Look at it, throw it away. Clip coupons.
Trash. No trash left sitting around. No food left out either. Throw away the coffee filter.
Pay the damn bills. I keep a paper brain for this. I missed one bill already this month. Yikes.
Zero plus is adding more basic chores. Vacuum the front room, sweep the kitchen, answer emails, water the houseplants, scrub the toilet. I killed my rosemary plant while Larry was ill. Tidy up. Wipe off the fridge and dishwasher.
Cook or bake. I might zap food, but actually cooking is a step up.
If I am really on top of things, I clean the stove and the tub. I hate these chores. Then there's dusting. Ugh. So much dust. Filters, water, swamp cooler, furnace.
Then there's outdoor chores. Ugh. Larry usually did them, but I did the weeding and bird feeding. Poor little things must be hungry.
Then there's painting, and sewing, and other crafty stuff. This takes energy and concentration. I am on short supply on both. Getting there, one step at a time.
Spa stuff. My skin hates me now.
Exercise? Ha. Hahahahaha.
A zero day means you didn't even get your basic life tasks accomplished for the day. Everyone has a different level of zero, so you need to create your own definition, your own checklist. For me, the goal would be to expand my definition of zero.
Here's what my zero, and my zero plus, looks like.
First and foremost, feed the cats and make sure they have their medicine twice a day. Punkin is very vocal about her breakfast, so she's a built in reminder.
Next, make sure I have coffee and my water pill, followed by hot food and my supplements.
Shower and dress. I might not stay dressed all day, but I do dress. Hair washing is only every three or four days, and a struggle when I'm achey.
Scoop the cat box. Since I had foster cats downstairs, Harry won't use the basement box anymore. If I don't keep the upstairs box clean, he poops on the little rug next to it.
The dishes. Doing the dishes is my absolute must do. I missed that yesterday. There's clean dishes in the dishwasher, and three dishes and two drink glasses in the sink. That's a minus for me. I rarely miss doing the dishes, I hate stuff in my sink. I always wash the cats' plates though, twice a day.
Spread up the bed, put dirty clothes in the hamper/basket. Do laundry as needed, fold it and put it away. Not daily, but something to not let get out of hand.
Mail. Bring in and sort the mail. Throw away the junk immediately. Deal with the rest usually takes me a day or three.
Bring in the stupid newspaper. Look at it, throw it away. Clip coupons.
Trash. No trash left sitting around. No food left out either. Throw away the coffee filter.
Pay the damn bills. I keep a paper brain for this. I missed one bill already this month. Yikes.
Zero plus is adding more basic chores. Vacuum the front room, sweep the kitchen, answer emails, water the houseplants, scrub the toilet. I killed my rosemary plant while Larry was ill. Tidy up. Wipe off the fridge and dishwasher.
Cook or bake. I might zap food, but actually cooking is a step up.
If I am really on top of things, I clean the stove and the tub. I hate these chores. Then there's dusting. Ugh. So much dust. Filters, water, swamp cooler, furnace.
Then there's outdoor chores. Ugh. Larry usually did them, but I did the weeding and bird feeding. Poor little things must be hungry.
Then there's painting, and sewing, and other crafty stuff. This takes energy and concentration. I am on short supply on both. Getting there, one step at a time.
Spa stuff. My skin hates me now.
Exercise? Ha. Hahahahaha.
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