Cupcake company Greens carried out research about women and men and how they spend their time.. it makes for interesting reading....
- One in three women have no 'me' time
I suppose it depends on each person's own perception of `me' time, as a mum of six, my needs come quite low down as a priority, it has been known that I have on occasion not even had time to brush my teeth before the school run - Thank goodness for packets of chewing gum....
- Hard-working women are so busy juggling their work and homes lives that one-in-three of them (31 per cent) have just 30 minutes to themselves on an average day. This is compared to a quarter of men (25 per cent).
30 minutes, wow I wish I had that much time! My time to myself consists of coming downstairs by myself in the morning, making everyone a hot drink, and then sitting down to drink mine alone for approximately five minutes, other than that I seem to NEVER be alone....
- 75 per cent of busy British women are working up to twelve hour-days. In fact, their lives are so hectic that 63 per cent admitted to recording a TV show - just so they can fast forward the adverts to save time. The survey also saw a third of women vote for "lying in" as their top activity should they be given more 'me' time.
Recording a programme is the only way that I actually get to watch television, you can guarantee I will not sit down on any evening before 10pm, so watching television when a programme is scheduled doesn't usually happen! Although I am not really a telly watching person, I would rather put on a good DVD, although I will admit to being a Gleek!
Lying in is a nice thought, although Asa and I do take it in turns at the weekend to get up with the children, it is supposed to be a partnership, and I get up every night if a child wakes, so it is fair!
-Over half of women (55 per cent) feel like they are always fighting against the clock while 60 per cent said they never get the time or head space to carry out their "to do" list. A third of women (31 per cent) said they often wake up in the middle of the night panicking about what they need to do the next day compared to less than a quarter of men (23 per cent).
That's because most men know that the woman in their life will ultimately do the things they need doing anyway-ironing, washing, household chores.
-Nearly one in two women (47 per cent) claim they rarely have time to themselves. They are spending considerably more time than men on daily activities such as chores and cooking with 39 per cent dedicating more than two hours to household chores, compared to just 15 per cent of men.
I guess it depends on whether the women surveyed were mothers or had no dependents, because I think it is only when you have had a child or two, that you realise just how much me time you used to have, however once babies come along there is NO me time...Two hours on household chores! Think of all the time you could be spending playing and having fun, don't get me wrong my house is fairly tidy and the washing machine and dishwasher are constantly on, but I would much rather stimultae the children...
-A fifth (20 per cent) of women spend more than two hours running errands, with only 11 per cent of men doing the same. The survey found that 14 per cent of men admitted to spending no time at all cooking, compared to a half (49 per cent) of women who spend more than two hours in the kitchen.
Two hours running errands-for what! There are only so many hours in a day, and I really think that some people should seriously prioritise. I guess its personal circumstances and what you value as important. Oh how I would love to spend two hours in the kitchen cooking, before we had children Asa and I would happily spend the afternoon making an Indian from scratch, last night we sat down for our Indian and Asa said wow you must have spent ages making this, I could have so easily said "Yes Dear" but No I was honest and said, as long as it took me to cook the chicken, open the jars and put the Bombay Potatoes in the microwave....
-Over one in ten of the women surveyed (11 per cent) get just 5 hours or less of sleep a night with 44 per cent agreeing they don't get to bed early enough because they have too much to do in the day. A further 66 per cent said they struggle to get to sleep because they find it hard to switch off. The research also showed that many people don't have time for sport or exercise with a third of men (31 per cent) and women (33 per cent) doing nothing at all.
Five hours sleep erm...maybe if i'm lucky, getting to bed early in this house would mean that I probably wouldn't ever get to speak to my husband without the constant interruption of a child!
That is a high proportion of people doing no sport or exercise, considering we are supposed to be so much more health conscious than in previous generations. I will admit I do not partake in an actual sport. but the running around In do after six children more than makes up for it, Asa, with a full time job, still manages to go Rugby Training twice a week and plays a match on Saturday. (That's because he has a very understanding wife that looks after the six children whilst he does this!)
-To cope with a lack of hours in the day it seems that women are turning to a whole host of time-saving devices with a quarter (26 per cent) admitting they often buy ready meals as they don't have time to cook. Forty seven per cent disclosed they rely on a dishwasher or tumble dryer to save time. Over half (55 per cent) of women said they would be tempted by any activity that could be fast tracked or sped up to give them more time to do other things.
Ready Meals with no physical exercise can only spell disaster, I appreciate that there are many people that do not haver much time, but seriously, how long does it take to make a healthy Prawn Pasta Salad. It will turn into9 a vicious circle, the ready meals will be high in salt and sugar and make you feel lethargic, which will mean you then have no get up and go!
Relying on a dishwasher and tumble dryer are definitely two things that take place in this household, my mum constantly nags that I do not hang my washing outside, but to be honest the time it would take to walk up the garden, hang it out and bring it back in again, not to mention hoping the chilsken don't try and attack it, would take twice as long as putting it in the tumble dryer.
We are constantly looking for activities that can be fast tracked or sped up, but no matter how hard I try the children still have the same pace each morning when getting ready for school!
-Sixty one per cent agreed that having more hours in the day to themselves would significantly improve their quality of life. The top activity of lying in was followed by a pampering session (27 per cent) and relaxing on the sofa (16 per cent). Thirty six per cent of women revealed they would like to spend time baking if they could, while 31 per cent said they would like to garden.
Pampering has never really had an appeal, much to my beauty therapist sister's disgust, but Baking and Gardening are areas that the whole family do enjoy. Has our society really become so bad that we have NO time to do these things, the children love gardening, and being outdoors, I enjoy looking after the vegetable patch and Asa spends most of his free time outside.
I do think where you live has an impact on your lifestyle, and we have made the decision to raise our children on the East Coast in a rural village, between Asa and I we have lived in most parts of the Uk and we agreed that here would be our choice to bring up our family.
I would welcome other peoples thoughts and how they fit into this research. xxx
