Busy Busy Busy ... BEE!

Going from the corporate environment to the home environment has been a little tricky for me. Besides the obvious like when my day starts and ends, the feeling is different. In an office tasks during the day are typically measurable or in some way tangible. At home, I do the same 3 things over and over so I feel like I'm constantly doing things, but if you were to walk into my house you'd think differently.

Take for example yesterday. I took a "Lazy Morning." I say lazy because I talked my daughter into taking an early nap, the dog was sorta up and I just wanted to watch a movie my mom lent me and drink a cup of hot chocolate. It was a pretty exhausting weekend, and to be honest, I didn't have it in me. But want to know the best part? I didn't feel guilty!

Isn't that sad? That if we are part time or stay at home parents - or even if we just have a day off work, if we're not constantly moving society calls it being lazy?? Why is that? It could stem from the work-a-holic world we call the good ole US of A! The vibe that our society has created to be constantly on the go. And if you take a break you're a lazy loser! Well like I felt yesterday, I needed a break. And I didn't care if things waited to get done til the afternoon, when I did start doing things.

Recent studies have shown (and no I don't have any websites to give reference to, you'll just have to trust me that I have read this a while ago) that our country more than any other is obsessed with work. We take less vacations and less time off than any other place in the world. And accordingly we are rewarded with promotions and bonuses. Only furthering our drive to be competitive in the work place the only way we know how. By working more. The same applies at home. I know some stay at home parents who's homes are immaculate! So when I step into mine and see it a disastrous mess, I think I'm lazy. I don't work hard enough to keep up with the demands my house has.

But here's the good news! (I knew you were waiting for it! SUSPENSE!) We are the LEAST productive country in the world. Yeah ... all that work and where does it get us? Not as far as we'd hoped. Because just because we're at work, doesn't mean we're working. Human beings are programmed to rest, rejuvenate and re energize to be at our optimal levels. In most European countries there is a mandatory 3 month vacation time for all employees. That's like 12 weeks our time. When most Americans are lucky to get 2 weeks! But are encouraged not to take them. And yet those studies by smart people I was talking about, PROVED that the Europeans who took their 3 months of vacay were vastly more productive. How bout that?  It's something that American companies don't want to grasp. They think that time is money, and time away from work is lost production. When in reality, it's the opposite. Giving people time away from the computer and desk is astronomical for both physical and mental health. Did you know that people who have desk jobs are significantly more likely to die early? Yep.

The fact that I'm trying to drive home here is that while it's EXCELLENT to be productive and get things done, it's EQUALLY important to sometimes take a break. Stop and smell those roses! I know for me when I get out of the house for awhile I come back rip roaring ready to go. I can clean and organize for hours. But if I've been home for a few days in a row, I get stuck, I don't want to do anything and tend to sit around.

If you have a desk job, get up every hour. Go get some water, use the restroom, take a walk around the building. It's good to stretch and move. It will greatly improve your health. Seriously. And don't say, well I'm gonna work out after work. Health experts say it doesn't matter. You need to be moving during the day.

Additionally, if you're at home, don't feel bad if you sit down to eat your lunch! Or fold laundry while watching TV. It's not laziness, it's called giving your body what it needs. Time off. If when your other comes home from work, work out a schedule so you get to have a little you time. That's what my fab husb and I are working on now! I run about 3 times a week, and I get time to do things maybe I couldn't do when I had the kid around.

Take a breath kids! Sitting on the couch for 30 minutes isn't going to turn you into some potato, or pumpkin, or the couch turns in to a log and you're a bump on it. It's letting your body take a second so you can keep going.

Stay healthy! Stay active! But don't forget to sit! :p