Time is a precious commodity! It seems we have less of it as time goes by and responsibilities add up. Consider this:
- The average full-time employee now works 47 hours a week in the United States. That’s almost 1.5 hours more than the standard 8 hours a day required, and this excludes the 1 hour lunch allotted to most. This ads up to almost a full extra day of work per week.
- Most people spend up to 10.5 hours at work daily. Add to that commute times (for me, that’s about 1 hour a day, 1.5 hours in bad traffic – average for the L.A. area), the time it takes to get ready in the morning and the night before (30 – 45 minutes combined for me – making coffee is important!), and you can see that work monopolizes a large percentage of every day.
- Most sleep experts agree that getting 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night is best for physical recovery and mental clarity the next day. There are a few out there who can get by on 4 – 6 hours, but I don’t appear to be one of them.
Without adding in chores, dog walks and playtime with kids, we are left with a measly 4 to 5 hours, depending on the variables I mentioned above outside of work and sleep, with which to handle life’s demands and activities.
It is no wonder that people are growing (literally) out of shape. Obesity is becoming and epidemic in the United States and in countries that have adopted our eat fast, work long lifestyles. Wasn’t technology supposed to give us more “free” time?
I love lifting weights and working out. However, getting started is very hard for me. I come home tired, a bit stressed out at times and with a mental checklist of chores that I need to do around the house. To my detriment, I will sometimes get started on a chore and working out takes a backseat.
So, I have a time management issue and that needs to change. I have gained quite a few pounds in the last year and have not consistently worked out. I can blame work, chores or whatever else I feel like, but the point is that I need to take control and make getting healthy a priority.
So, as cliche as this sounds, I have some changes in store for 2015. I’ll write about those as they either come to fruition or are a work in progress; no need for me to announce something that I may not be able to pull off.
I will say this, health and fitness will be a priority. To support my plans will also involve some other changes that I’m not prepared to write about yet, mainly because these requires some good planning and certain pieces, some financial and some that I’ll just
refer as “time thieves,” need to fall in place or be eliminated, in order for me to succeed. However, I’ll be fine either way and plan to push forward with my quest to regain some health!
This may be my last post of 2014, as the remainder of the year is now embroiled in travel plans, family visits and shopping… still plenty of shopping left before Christmas. Ugh…
And with that, I wish everyone a great remainder to what’s left of 2014 and a fresh start for 2015!
“I’m going through changes!”
