After a slight change in routine

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My world is thrown into chaos.

I wanted to stay up until midnight and watch the Lyrids meteor shower. I usually go to bed at 10:30pm but I though that I'd just stay up longer this night and I'd get back into the routine the next night.
I didn't see the meteor shower and next morning I just felt more tired than I usually am. Maybe unmotivated is the word I'm looking for.
I didn't get up at the usual time. One hour passed and I had to force myself onto my feet. I had the same breakfast that I have everyday. Really didn't want to make my bed so I did my usual routine 5 times slower.

I've just felt bothered to do that much today and the only reason I can think of was going to bed late. It just threw my whole routine off.

I don't know how I'm going to cope with change in the future like moving house and working. And then living on my own.

Has anyone else dared to change their routine slightly? Did it work or like me did it just make you feel more lethargic? I can understand feeling restless/anxious or having a meltdown but lethargic - really?

Lethargic can be shutdown. I used to shut down every dentist visit and feel like total crud and then sleep. Some forms of shutdown lead to sleep or lethargy and some don't but it's a known phenomenon. (Look up shutdownsandstressinautism.)

Interesting. I didn't think of a shutdown. Thanks, I'll look it up.

Right - shutting down is a standard response of mine to stress, and an apparently minor change in routine can often be traceable cause.

It could just be a very sensitive internal clock too. I feel lethargic for about two weeks after the time change where you lose an hour.

I moved a little over a month ago. I'm still readjusting. I ended up with multiple shutdowns, and my grades are currently in the toilet. Finally I resorted to just quitting school for most of a week and I'm just starting to get back on track.

Thankfully disability services has apparently handled this kind of thing before and haven't got a problem helping me catch up. They say they are going to get another student to help me organize my schoolwork so I can do it one bit at a time without getting overwhelmed. I just hope it works, and that by the time I go back to school (Monday) I can manage to start working again without either meltdown or shutdown (which is what happened during the entirety of the last week--whenever I tried doing anything that required organization and effort, my brain decided to go on vacation. fun...)

I find that slight changes trow me off, as well. I'm used to spending a nice evening at home, on the nights that my best friend, doesn't take us places. That crazy girl who calls her my friend, the one who admitted me into emergency for that night, asked me if I wanted to go to the park, with her and her dogs. I was sitting there for an hour, waiting for her to get the dogs ready to go. Top 40 was playing in the background, and I was getting restless. I finally told her that I wanted to go home and listen to my music, I got up and I left.

I have some strict routines I follow on a daily basis but I no longer shutdown or freak-out when I break them any more. A few years ago I basically taught my self to change my routines a bit every once in a while so I can learn to assimilate to any changes in my routine. I still get a little nerved when I change my routines but I don’t shut down so much anymore unless it’s a huge change… now my routines are just more comforting for my self. I still follow the basic routines every day but if something breaks it I can work with the change.