How Do You Spend Your Day?

Well - I'm back at work...sort of. I actually spent a good chunk of the day preparing for my sabbatical by applying for passports for our kids - so other than doing some reading, I spent a good bit of my day standing in line. Read this article and the accompanying chart to see how different groups spend their day - very interesting results based on age, gender, employment status, & ethnic groups. Unfortunately it isn't based on Canadian statistics but I imagine we are not that far off from our American cousins - although I think we have a better employment rate right now. Apparently 1 in 10 Americans are not employed - something not seen in 27 years.

So how much time do you spend during your day sleeping, eating, socializing, working, thinking, watching TV & movies, etc. ???

Hang in there!

I've been going non-stop it seems since mid-February and my batteries are becoming more and more depleted. I'm hoping that after this weekend life will become less busy and more focused on family & friends. My job is definitely seasonal but for whatever reason it is peaking a little more intensely than I remember. Thankfully there are no significant issues other than workload, no personality clashes or leadership power issues, just plain old prep' and marking will be busy this next week but I think it is much more manageable. I'm just looking forward to not having to work next weekend. Rest is in my sights, riding my bikes is just around the corner, new life in May - I can hardly wait!

Spring Just Around The Corner

We still have lots of snow but the melt will begin if the weather forecasted for this weekend holds. The clocks spring ahead on Sunday meaning more daylight for exploring play after work. Right now - I can hardly wait to get back into biking shape and it will take some effort as I wasn't able to maintain the exercise regime I had hoped for.

As I reflected in musings - time is slipping, I'm catching my breath after a busy last 4 weeks but I still have 6 weeks till grad and lots to do! I do have somewhat of a seasonal job and it changes drastically come May. I'm looking forward to the change even though I will miss teaching weekly. I have a few moments of teaching & team-building opportunities but I'm somewhat hesitant in filling the time up with extra work projects with the baby on the way.

I also want to make sure my evenings and weekends are more open than they've been these last 6 months. It is definitely time to prioritize & reevaluate how I'm utilizing time. Exploring play has always been a part of my lifestyle but it hasn't felt in the right place as of yet. My girls are growing up fast and I want to make sure I pass on my love for the outdoors, for exercise & sport, on to them as well! With Wendy being pregnant, it has also limited the amount of time we normally spend together doing outdoorsy stuff as well unfortunately and I'm looking forward to this summer so that together we can explore play again as well!

Catching My Breath

Time is on my heels as this college year winds down - six weeks till graduation of my fifth year of teaching students. Nine weeks till our third child's due date. So here I am catching my breath in a moment between marking, prepping, teaching, spending time with family or friends, entertaining guests, working out, skiing, etc. Phew - breathe in, breathe out! The Rocky theme song may become my anthem yet!

Family time?

An interesting article on time spent with family in Canada. The Globe & Mail report suggest that average Canadian workers spend 45 minutes less with their family on a typical work day than they did 20 years ago.

Add that up for a 260-day work year, and Canadians are missing out on the equivalent of five 40-hour work weeks with their family, or 195 hours less than 20 years ago, according to the Statistics Canada study "Time with the family," published in Tuesday's Canadian Social Trends. - Globe & Mail

I think the statistic is especially relevant to us parents who I believe are honestly trying to buck this overall trend. I do see spending time with family as very important but with certain jobs - family time changes with the seasons. As a teacher - my summers are focused considerably more on family than the rest of the year. However, I've found it critical that I actually have to book time for family weekly or else it just gets filled in with other stuff. The temptations of spending time surfing on the net or watching TV also negatively affects time spent with the kids as well. Numerous challenges to this family thing in the 00's.

Jer notes on his Lifestylism blog that the longer work day may be what causing the most significant cut into family time in response to this CBC article.

I think we sometimes mistakenly classify taking kids to swimming lessons or gymnastics or other sports as family time. In those cases, it may appear that we are spending time with family but in reality we are more like "taxicab" drivers and I don't think we can include that as family time. Any other thoughts out there regarding family time within our lifestyle?