This has been a week of unusually little sleep for me, mostly because Mr. FG and I have been staying up way too late working on getting things ready for our wood floor installation.
Normally I get a pretty consistent 8 hours of sleep, but this week has been full of nights that are more like 6 hours long.
For a few days, I was doing all right and I thought, “Oooh, maybe I don’t need as much sleep as I thought! Think how much time this will save me!”
But then after about three nights of this, I really started to hit a wall and it’s become clear that 8 hours is ideal for me.
(Sonia and Zoe are under there…”burrowing” as they call it!)
Yesterday I felt super exhausted and it is SO hard to stay motivated and inspired and productive in that state.
This week has been a fresh reminder that staying up late isn’t really a key to productivity.
If I got less sleep, I could theoretically have more hours to be productive, but the reality is that my exhausted self isn’t productive.
Basically, a rested me can get more done in 16 hours of awake time than an exhausted me can get done in 18 hours of awake time.
Sleep = Investment in the next day.
(I did function on little sleep for many, many months with our babies…so I know I can do it if necessary, but the point is that it’s definitely not ideal for me! Given the option, it’s smart for me to put myself to bed.)
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Simply Being Mum is out of her blogging office this Friday, so she asked if I’d be willing to host Food Waste Friday for her this week.
So, let’s see…
-I do know I composted a pepper top and a few stalks of celery, but I didn’t take pictures.
-I didn’t do anything heroic this week to use up food, although we did eat all of the bridal shower leftovers.
-Mr. FG ended up eating out one day for lunch, but he refrigerated his packed lunch and I ate it the next day.
-I had two cooked chicken breasts in my fridge, so I made curried chicken salad sandwiches for dinner one night.
(I did not make the croissants. They’re from Aldi!)
I’ll do a more proper Food Waste Friday post next week, with fridge/freezer pictures and all.
Plus, my life promises to be filled with fewer commitments and more sleep starting next week, so, maybe I will actually do some things on the food waste front that are interesting. 😉
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How’s the food waste scene at your house? Tell us in the comments!
Laura Vanderkam
Monday 1st of June 2015
I don't get 8 hours/day but I know (from tracking many many weeks!) that I am close. Depending on the week it's between 7.25-7.75 hours/day. That's with working a bit north of 40 hours, dealing with 4 kids and their activities, exercising, and hanging out with friends too. Some people may get excited about sleep deprivation as a sign they're doing it all but I find it's usually quite possible to do a lot and sleep too. Here's hoping this week brings more sleep in the FG house!
Kristen
Monday 1st of June 2015
Yeah, my nights are probably more like an average of 8. Some are slightly more, some are slightly less. But it does seem that an average of 6 doesn't really work for me! I just walk around in an unproductive fog.
Marianne
Saturday 30th of May 2015
I just wanted to say I hope you love your new wood floors, we put hardwood in about 10 years ago with 2 kids n 2 (sometimes 3 or 4) dogs they are so easy to care for. It really helped my oldest son with his asthma. Not sure if it was dust and dirt with the carpet or the carpet itself but his breathing got better after that carpet left the house.
Heather
Friday 29th of May 2015
Be thankful that you can get 8 hours. Most days after working full time, taking kids to sports/scouts/dance, heading home for dinner/homework/showers the kids will be in bed by 9:00-9:30 and that's when the work starts. Cleaning, laundry, paperwork, bills - usually between 12:00 and 1:00 is when I get to bed. Alarm goes off at 5:00am to do it all over again the next day!!!
Kristen
Saturday 30th of May 2015
I would seriously keel over from exhaustion if I tried to maintain a schedule like that long-term. It's great that the lifestyle you've chosen for your family is workin' for you, though, and I know you've said in the past that you feel the extra-curricular choices you've made are worth the effort.
EcoCatLady
Saturday 30th of May 2015
I honestly don't know how you do it - I think I'd be ready to open a vein, or at least have a nervous breakdown! Seriously, I am child-free by choice because I knew I wouldn't be able to handle it emotionally - and I wasn't even factoring exhaustion into the equation. And if the way I feel after 6 months if sleep deprivation is any clue... well, I think it's a good thing for all parties that I made the decision that I did! I am soooo grateful that there are stronger souls than me out there willing to do the hard work of motherhood. My hat is off to you and all of the other mothers out there.
EcoCatLady
Friday 29th of May 2015
Oy! Count me in with the "can't function with less than 8 hours crowd."
I do have a question for all of you folks who have babies or have had them in the past. How do you deal with the sleep issue? I'm nursing a sick kitty who wakes me up every 3-4 hours throughout the night. Long story, but she needs to eat small frequent meals and requires assistance. I'm probably averaging 8 hours or so per night, but it's all broken into small chunks, and I can never seem to finish a complete sleep cycle before she wakes me up. Is there some trick to dealing with this sort of sleep deprivation or do you just have to suffer through?
Kayla
Saturday 30th of May 2015
Naps! A few times I put on a toddler video or Sesame Street for my 2 year old and napped on the couch when the baby was asleep. I didn't like doing it but when I woke up 2-4 times at night I felt like a zombie. Now that my youngest is consistently sleeping through the night I feel like a whole new person!
Kristen
Saturday 30th of May 2015
I think I mostly just suffered through! The only trick I had was to make very sure I went to bed when the baby did...when the baby went to sleep at night, I went right to bed too (no staying up to catch up chores or anything.)
I hope your cat feels better soon!
Gladys (The Pinay Mom)
Friday 29th of May 2015
If I only get 6 hours of sleep it affects my productivity all day long.That means I have to take a nap in the afternoon and slack more often.The ideal for me is 7 hours ,at least, to function pretty well without feeling lethargic the entire day.