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I have very little free time everyday and I find it difficult to relax in the little time that's left. Please offer some advice for how I can better relax given my schedule:
Work: 11 hours/day (really should be 9.5 hr/day but I end up having to stay longer than my shift to get everything finished. The less rest I get, the less productive I end up and have to taking more time finishing everything, thus leaving even less time left to rest.)
Commute: 1 hour/day
Sleep: 8 hours/day (Since sleep isn't 100% efficient, actual sleeping hours end up around maybe 7 - 7.5hr/day. I know this may be more than what other people get but I can't function on less than, say 7 hours, period. I literally can't even stand up straight and my vision's blurry for the rest of the day unless I get AT LEAST 7 hours!!!!)
This leaves only 4 hours left everyday. How do I relax?
Not sure how much help I can provide, but my schedule is similar to yours. I leave home at 6:30 a.m. and get home about 5:30 p.m. When I started having difficulty sleeping, I started using CDs that help you get to sleep. I had bought them about 4 years ago when the Discovery Store went out of business. The music probably lasts about an hour, but I am usually asleep before then. I also shower with BBW's aromatherapy for Sleep. I have a dog, so most of my down time is playing with her. You also might try yoga and meditation. Good luck.
I have a white noise machine that I got from Brookstone, I love it! I can just sit and listen to a number of sounds/songs for as long as I want. Also, I love to do yoga...my favorite is Power Yoga but I also do meditation yoga. You can buy DVDs that have multiple 15 minute segments (I recommend searching Rodney Yee's DVD's on Amazon). Sometimes I come home, do a quick yoga flow series with one of the DVD's and unwind in the shower with some music playing (I have an iPod docking station in my bathroom).
I have very little free time everyday and I find it difficult to relax in the little time that's left. Please offer some advice for how I can better relax given my schedule:
Work: 11 hours/day (really should be 9.5 hr/day but I end up having to stay longer than my shift to get everything finished. The less rest I get, the less productive I end up and have to taking more time finishing everything, thus leaving even less time left to rest.)
Commute: 1 hour/day
Sleep: 8 hours/day (Since sleep isn't 100% efficient, actual sleeping hours end up around maybe 7 - 7.5hr/day. I know this may be more than what other people get but I can't function on less than, say 7 hours, period. I literally can't even stand up straight and my vision's blurry for the rest of the day unless I get AT LEAST 7 hours!!!!)
This leaves only 4 hours left everyday. How do I relax?
You don't need to add relaxing; you need to work less. Your schedule is not healthy.
You could trade one of the four hours for an extra hour of sleep.
You may have other health issues (we don't have "problems" anymore; we have "issues") such as anxiety. Counseling or medication may be a good idea.
If you aren't exercising four times a week for at least 40 moderately hard minutes then you aren't meeting your exercise requirements - requirements that need to be met regardless if you work hard and are stressed out.
In most cases if you eat right, get enough rest, exercise, don't smoke or abuse drugs/alcohol, you shouldn't have problems. But if you are, it could be anxiety or depression or something else.
I have very little free time everyday and I find it difficult to relax in the little time that's left. Please offer some advice for how I can better relax given my schedule:
Work: 11 hours/day (really should be 9.5 hr/day but I end up having to stay longer than my shift to get everything finished. The less rest I get, the less productive I end up and have to taking more time finishing everything, thus leaving even less time left to rest.)
Commute: 1 hour/day
Sleep: 8 hours/day (Since sleep isn't 100% efficient, actual sleeping hours end up around maybe 7 - 7.5hr/day. I know this may be more than what other people get but I can't function on less than, say 7 hours, period. I literally can't even stand up straight and my vision's blurry for the rest of the day unless I get AT LEAST 7 hours!!!!)
This leaves only 4 hours left everyday. How do I relax?
Find a different job that you can devote more time to you....I'm afraid if you don't you'll burn out...that is way to much time working and traveling....
Valerian is a wonderful, non habit forming herb that is wonderful at helping one relax. I suggest you research it. My husband works 11 hour days, too, so I understand.
Moderator cut: orphaned
Last edited by SouthernBelleInUtah; 02-18-2011 at 01:18 PM..
Reason: add remark about Charles
Find a different job that you can devote more time to you....I'm afraid if you don't you'll burn out...that is way to much time working and traveling....
Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles
You don't need to add relaxing; you need to work less. Your schedule is not healthy.
You could trade one of the four hours for an extra hour of sleep.
You may have other health issues (we don't have "problems" anymore; we have "issues") such as anxiety. Counseling or medication may be a good idea.
If you aren't exercising four times a week for at least 40 moderately hard minutes then you aren't meeting your exercise requirements - requirements that need to be met regardless if you work hard and are stressed out.
In most cases if you eat right, get enough rest, exercise, don't smoke or abuse drugs/alcohol, you shouldn't have problems. But if you are, it could be anxiety or depression or something else.
I'm broke (although debt-free).. none of the bolded are options.
Look, you asked for advice. Sorry if you don't like some of the responses, but what is it going to take to get you to see common sense? A heart attack? A mental break-down?
If you are only supposed to work 9.5 hours, then you need to stick to that most of the time. Occasionally working late when there is a deadline coming is one thing, but not knowing how to put your work away and come home on time regularly is a problem as much as anything else. As you've already noted, you are less efficient when you work more. Make it a point to leave when the clock says it's time. You may find that if you work more efficiently during the allotted time, you can get just as much done.
As others have suggested, maybe you need to move closer to work so that your commute is shorter. That's a lot of time spent in the car and most people find driving stressful.
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