13 Mar 2011

Work, Weight, Hot and Tired

I'm writing this in my house-sized sauna. The heating is *still* stuck on high and I am remembering in great detail, Aussie summers! I cannot wait for the plumber to arrive next week and relieve me from this 40 degree hell!

The question this week has been to work late or not? With job losses and the recession, I think everyone, everywhere, now does whatever it takes to make sure they hold onto employment. And with mortgages and families to support, rightly so. But I also think companies are taking advantage of this and keep pushing for more from their employees. They need to get more for less. But even in these worrying times, I am sticking to my new year's resolution not to work above my designated hours. For two years, I worked 55-60 hours a week (instead of my 36) and I felt like my life was only work and sleep repeated again and again. What I have realised this year is that everyone is replaceable (even if you work double!) and you don't get thought better of for working harder. So with my "new" hours, I am finding there is balance in my life, I am happier, less tired and my bosses actually respond more positively to me (who knew?!) The purpose of our lives is to be happy and I think all companies everywhere, have to remember that we are all doing our best but ultimately, we work to live.... really live. We don't live to work.

It may be a quiet Sunday out there but for me this morning, it was (dum dum duuuum) The Moment of Truth. It was my second weigh-in for Weight Watchers. Last week I lost 2kgs (4.5lbs) and was over the moon (celebrating by buying more OPI nailpolishes). Although I've stuck to my points this week, I was nervous. Not only had we celebrated Shrove Tuesday (pancakes!), my Aunt's Birthday down at the pub and enjoyed a lovely Chinese on Friday, Mum had bought me some lovely new digital / electronic scales. What if my old crappy ones were so antiquated that although it would show my correct weight, it would show me heavier than I thought ....

With heavy heart (excuse the pun), I got on the scales and I had lost another 2kgs (4.5lbs). Woop woop! Yeah me! I also go down a point now so I have fewer points to eat. Am well chuffed with this achievement.

Off to sit in front of the fan until I wake up properly and attack the day with gusto.

(BTW the word for the day on Dictionary.com is "aver" .... to assert as true! You learn something new every day)