My co worker has been off work since May and will be off until October-ish. I have noticed a direct correlation between my weight, energy level and number of hours worked. I have noticed the higher my workload the lower my energy level is for anything outside work. The more number of hours a week I work, the higher my weight goes. I honestly do not know how to combat that.
I’ll use this week as an example… I am working six 10+ hour days. I have about an hour commute each way. I leave for work between 6-6:15 AM and get home from work between 6-7 PM. I am exhausted by the time I get home and could seriously fall asleep on the couch if the kids would not jump on me. But a mother’s work is never done. I start the bedtime routine when I get home. The kids go to bed at 8 and I head upstairs to get ready for bed myself between 9-10 PM and get up by 5 AM to start it all over the next day.
I completely lack balance. I miss my 7:30-4PM shift only 5 days a week. I miss having the energy to exercise in the mornings before work and still have time and energy to do something after work. A two day weekend seems like such a luxury and distant memory now.
My long time readers know that I do not really do New Years Resolutions but instead make changes and set goals around my birthday. Smaller goals for most birthdays that I can accomplish by my next birthday and larger 5+ year goals on the birthdays that end in a 5 or a 0. With my birthday approaching roughly the same time my coworker should be returning to work I feel it is the perfect time for a reset of my life…again.
Now this happens off and on where things get so out of whack that I need to make radical changes to get back on track. It isn’t as if I just decide one day to chuck all my goals and live a life that does not bring me peace. It happens slowly. I started getting off track with the pandemic with the lack of gym access and my beloved Yoga studio by the waterfront closing. The staffing shortages and overtime just made things worse. My stress levels and weight were rising and my general health was just not there. Then I was hit with a big blow to my health with my reaction to my Covid shot. I am so happy to have survived the reaction but years later I am still dealing with the complications from it. Complications that no one can tell me what to expect in the future. No idea if they will be lifelong problems or if they will go away.
So I have 2 months to soul search, evaluate all aspects of my life and figure out what changes I want to make. I will then come up with a plan and set short term goals. I already know a couple changes I am going to make. I have a couple others that I am on the fence about changing or not because they have both positive and negative points. Maybe they just need a bit of a tweak. I have other things that I am happy with, but could be better. I also have a long list of things I want to do and places I want to go.
I need a plan.
Working Mom - Travel Dreams 