#newRoutine: Transitions are expensive.

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It’s been a few days since we started my new routine and so far it hasn’t gone super well. The routine is new and we’re finding it hard to follow. It’s easy for things to get missed, or for me to run out of energy.

The last three days have been crushingly tricky for energy. Most days I am struggling to be awake and active for more than about 10 hours.

Unlike my normal routines where i have autonomy over the timing, my new routines are based on when friends are avaliable to help. That’s why morning routine starts at 8am!

In order to accommodate an early start, my bedtime has has to move forward. Most days I’ve been “going to bed” between 7:30 and 8pm.

Sort of bedtime.

Well, sort of. Going to bed is perhaps the wrong word for it. In effect i am finishing my day by 8pm and getting into bed, but perhaps it would be more precise to say is i am avoiding transitions after 8pm.

Transitions, eg, moving between things, have always been hard. As I have so little energy, transitions are becoming a much bigger problem.

A pending transition is something like “brushing my teeth”. Something i need to do later. If i have a pending transition then i need to try and save enough energy to complete it… that’s very tricky at the moment.

By bringing the the day to an end sooner i have less transitions. When i get into bed at 8pm i know there is nothing else i need to do and i can start to rest.

Hopefully as the week goes on and i have more routine i will start to have more energy too.

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Spaced Out & Smiling is about exploring the fun side of Autism, and trying to understand what it means to be Autistically Happy.

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