Too many people are so overloaded with tasks and responsibilities that they are having trouble fitting it all in. So they cut back on the only thing in their life that seems unproductive. For many, that thing is sleep.
Work-at-home moms (WAHMs) can easily fall into the trap of cutting back on their sleep to get more done. In fact, with their work right there at home, WAHMs may have to work extra hard to set boundaries between work and personal time.
Yet lack of sleep is dangerous. Cutting back on sleep is not an acceptable solution to solving the problem of having too much to do.
I hope that most of us know not to drive when we have had too much to drink. Did you know that driving tired could be nearly as dangerous as driving drunk? Check out the sobering facts in this brochure from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Did you know that other serious problems (such as obesity, depression, memory problems, heart disease, and even diabetes) could be related to not getting a good night's sleep? For more information you can download this helpful article from the National Institutes of Health: The Need for Sleep.
Matthew Paulson, over at FinanceisPersonal.com has some creative solutions for getting enough sleep that particularly apply to home-based workers.
Whatever you do, it's important to make sure that you get enough sleep. I don't know about you, but I feel guilty when I put off tasks to go to bed. I need to get over that kind of thinking.
Do you get enough sleep? Leave a comment and tell me how many hours of sleep you average. If you've solved this problem, leave a comment and tell me how.
I average about 7 hours of sleep each night and accomplish this by setting a schedule and sticking to it. Most of the time it is not that there is not enough time but effective use of time that causes the problem. If my schedule gets out of whack one day, I make up the hours later or on another day, but I try hard not to get less than 7 hours of sleep each day.
Effective time management can help to avoid the trap of being overwhelmed and feeling guilty about sleep. Another thing that helps alleviate the guilt is that if you are sleep deprived you are actually less healthy and less productive; that is something I would feel guilty about.
Posted by: Kimberlee Morrison | August 16, 2007 10:25 AM | Permalink to Comment