One of my biggest pet peeves is wasting time. I like to be efficient, and I don’t like to wait. I have realized, however, that part of who I am conflicts directly with this statement. You see, every morning I wake up and spend around 45 minutes to 1 hour ‘getting ready.’ This entails shower, clothes (ironing, if needed), hair, face, teeth, etc. My stepdad used to call it “primping,” which I always hated. It made me feel prissy, which I am definitely not. But, I like to look presentable when I go out in public. Over the years, I’ve tried different tactics to pare down the time spent on these daily tasks, but to no avail. I tried cutting my hair thinking that less hair = less time. Turns out shorter hair actually takes longer, at least in my case. And although I have threatened to get a crew cut style on more than one occasion, I know that I would never be comfortable with hair cut so short. I tried showering at night, but I don’t like going to bed with wet hair. And the nature of my hair is such that I have to wash it again in the morning anyway! I tried changing my makeup routine – different types of powder or foundation, less eye makeup, etc. I was just never pleased with the way I looked, and some of it made my face breakout, which is definitely not good. About the only thing that has saved me time in the morning is if I pick out my clothes the night before (and iron, if needed). So, I have resigned myself to the fact that I need to leave around 60 minutes every morning to get ready (primp).
So, I was figuring it up this morning (I am a numbers girl), to see how much time in my life I will end up spending in the bathroom in front of the mirror. Estimating 1 hour per day, 365 days a year (because truly, don’t you leave the house almost every single day of the year?), for an approximate 85 year life span. I subtracted 33 years from that number because I know that I didn’t start spending an hour a day until my teen years and I don’t expect I will still be spending 1 hour every day after I retire. So 1 x 365 x (85-33) = 18,980 hours of my life in the bathroom! UGH! Now I start thinking about what I could do with that time. Even at 7 hours a week, I’m drooling. I could read a book, I could work out, I could dedicate more time to my new blog, I could SLEEP . . . I truly envy those people who can get up 30 minutes before they walk out the door. I’ve just learned to accept that I will never be one of them! And although it feels a bit like ‘wasted’ time, I know that feeling good about yourself is important to your success and self-esteem, so I will continue my daily routine and try to find time elsewhere to fit in my workout . . .
So, I was figuring it up this morning (I am a numbers girl), to see how much time in my life I will end up spending in the bathroom in front of the mirror. Estimating 1 hour per day, 365 days a year (because truly, don’t you leave the house almost every single day of the year?), for an approximate 85 year life span. I subtracted 33 years from that number because I know that I didn’t start spending an hour a day until my teen years and I don’t expect I will still be spending 1 hour every day after I retire. So 1 x 365 x (85-33) = 18,980 hours of my life in the bathroom! UGH! Now I start thinking about what I could do with that time. Even at 7 hours a week, I’m drooling. I could read a book, I could work out, I could dedicate more time to my new blog, I could SLEEP . . . I truly envy those people who can get up 30 minutes before they walk out the door. I’ve just learned to accept that I will never be one of them! And although it feels a bit like ‘wasted’ time, I know that feeling good about yourself is important to your success and self-esteem, so I will continue my daily routine and try to find time elsewhere to fit in my workout . . .
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