I clearly have not met my 2007 goal related to stress. I have barely had a free weeknight in months. That’s why I gave myself a slightly worse score this year.
My goal for the coming year is to have at least 3 weeknights a week totally free to relax as I see fit.
Free time is hard to come by given my schedule. I over-volunteer a good bit. It’s actually what I like to do. However, I have a variety of things going on now that I would rather not have going on, mostly related to being a congregational President. The good news is that my term ends in March 2008.
I had previously tried just laying down for 30 minutes when I get home from work. I am now wondering if the right thing to do would be to use the treadmill or walk for 30 minutes. Exercise is a good stress reliever. When I was in cardiac rehab, I think those 45 minutes were pretty relaxing. It also satisfies two of my goals: reduce stress and exercise more.
I don’t think that I will never stop being involved with non-profit volunteering. I find it rewarding and don’t see giving it up. However, I need to balance volunteer time with my work-home life schedule.
For the coming year I would like to see myself doing the treadmill for 30 minutes after work on 3 work nights. I would like to see my volunteer commitment reduced to 2 work nights a week. I am clearly burnt out on church stuff and will most likely curtail most volunteering related to church in early 2008.