Work & Life Balance

THREE DAY WEEK

Life is short. Five days out of seven at work is a lot - especially when the days are long. A third of our time is spent sleeping and it only leaves a couple of hours in the evening when we're already spent with just the weekend to recover and fit in some enjoyment around the other life chores. Wouldn't it be better if we had double the weekend?

I always liked the idea of not working on a Monday. It's a terrible day in work terms. The first day back after a great weekend can be a real downer - and if you've had a lot of fun, chances are the battery could have done with a longer recharge... Not much gets done on a Monday in real work terms. So, a small sleep-in followed by a relaxing day means that Tuesday will be very productive. And if we could work to deadlines rather than hours a day, I reckon the majority of people could get their work done a lot faster - especially if we all got to do shorter weeks. That means Tuesday to Thursday would be a lot more productive, potentially leaving Friday free to enjoy too. Think how many long weekends we could have travelling to different countries, or how much more of our families and loved ones we could see and share good times with. Life would still be short - but richer on a three day work week for sure.

Sunny Disposition

BRING ON THE SUNSHINE

It's amazing what a little bit of sunshine can do to your mood. I've not felt too energised the last few days. my sleep is off and my mind is muddled with stuff that's not conducive to being positive & productive. I had some boring bits to do. So off I went on a 3 hour walk. I took all my dull jobs with me as I went, calling the bank, sorting my annual travel insurance, getting a quote for the repairs to my car, emailing/calling work to arrange a meeting for tomorrow and went looking for a replacement phone. It's great having a hands-free, even if you do look like a nutcase to passers by.

I walked quickly to get my heart rate up a bit, taking moments to look around me as I went. I checked out a few clothes shops on route, grabbed a coffee, read for a bit, took some fresh air through the park and returned to prepare a delicious meal of smoked cod which I'd bought from our local fisherman. By the evening, my creativity had returned, my mood had lifted and I even managed to slot in a bit of money-saving work before retiring to bed. Which is where I am now - early, so I'll be up and on fighting form for my boxing training in the morning!

I've gone to bed with thoughts about my pending holiday in my head to help booster my mood tomorrow. I'm heading to the alps in a couple of weeks time and I'm sure there'll be a bit more healing sunshine while I'm there too (and hopefully some snow), so I'm really looking forward to three of my favourite things - sun, snow and the thrill of hurtling down the mountains. Tomorrow will be another great day.