Sleep vs Money
After reading a post by Mrs Micah, I realized that I too have a sleep debt. I work about 55 hours per week at my day job, and roughly 16 on my small business. That’s a total of 71 hours of work per week - which is quite a lot. It is down from my previous 80-90 hours per week at my day job just a few short years ago though.
During the week, I wake at 6 AM to get my son ready for school. After I get him ready to go, I head off to work, and don’t return home until 6:30 PM. After a quick dinner it’s up to my home office until 11 PM. I do this Monday through Thursday, and then just my day job Friday, and half of Saturday. Sunday I do no work at all.
Six hours
During the week, I get very little sleep - on average I’d say 6 to 6 and a half hours if I’m lucky. Unfortunately I’m not the kind of guy who does well with no sleep. I need lots of sugar and caffeine, which no doubt wreaks havoc on my body. I also get a little grouchy at times. However, I am loathe to work less, because I need to make progress. Working less at my day job is not optional ( really I probably should work more there ). And I don’t want to give up my business because I feel it has a huge amount of potential.
Trading sleep for money
What I’m effectively doing by working so much is trading sleep for money. I sleep less for the chance to earn more money. By the time Friday morning rolls around, I’m like a zombie - I’m already short 6-8 hours of sleep for the week. That cannot be healthy at all, and I’m not sure if I can really maintain it long term.
No end in sight
If there’s a more sleep-filled future for me, I cannot see it yet. I could work on Sunday and take 2 days off during the week, but that means I would work every single day of the week. It’s also not in tune with my religion, so I won’t be going that road. Saturday is also an option, but that’s my chores day. Grocery shopping, cleaning house, washing cars, etc etc.
Ideas from my readers?
Dear readers, if you have any ideas to help me manage my time better, and sleep more, I would truly appreciate it. I don’t claim to know it all, and I love advice. Please drop me a comment below if you have any tips for me.
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March 13th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Is there a way you could transition to another job? Are there similar positions in your field which only require 40-hour weeks? Are you willing to give up the chance of advancement for just doing well enough in your job as you’re developing your business?
March 13th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Changing jobs isn’t really an option at this point. Truth be told, I make way more than the average person with my level of education. Changing jobs would mean a big paycut. And in my industry, long hours are the norm. I actually used to work 70-90 hours per week at this job, until I cut back to a more sustainable level. Working less hours at my dayjob isn’t an option either unfortunately, since I’m already at the low end.