We spent the holidays in my husband’s country of origin, Lebanon. After 10 days of continuous feasting and feting with relatives and friends in a time zone 10 hours ahead of California, we are all jetlagged and sleep-deprived. There hasn’t been a period of two hours since our return that the entire household has been asleep as our biological clocks are out of sync and someone is always awake and rummaging in the kitchen for sustenance in the wee hours of the morning. After his quiet “staycation” at the kennel, the dog doesn’t know what to make of all the commotion!

I am finding myself most productive between 2 am and 5 am. It is amazing how much I can get done in the calm and quiet of the night without the distraction of emails, texts, and phone calls, or the ruckus of leaf blowers, wood chippers and construction vehicles. For the first time in 25 years I am caught up with the laundry and ironing. I have responded to all correspondence, planned our February ski vacation, and have dinner prepared each day by 9am. I am considering adopting a nocturnal life style. Of course, the downside is I can’t complete any task that actually requires sustained concentration or a working memory and I fell asleep last night at 8pm. But the upside is that to accomplish anything in this compromised state I have to be focused and mindful. Avoiding my usual habits of multi-tasking and ruminating have increased my productivity!

Today’s New York Times had an article with tips to make 2017 “the year that you quiet all those negative thoughts swirling around your brain.” Swirling thoughts is a pretty typical state of my brain in normal circumstances, but such activity has been remarkably absent since our return. I resolve to relish and sustain this new-found calm, be it the result of a festive and joyous holiday, or just jetlag!