T.G.I.F. - This has been a long week

Although I only work part time, I am glad its Friday and my commitments are over. Although there weren't any major incidents, here's what made this week so long:

Eight hour working shifts. This week, I worked two eight hour shifts in the three days I was scheduled, which isn't normal. I guess I'm no longer used to eight straight hours of work, as I was before taking early retirement. One of the days, I did not work with a single clients, which made it particularly boring. The other day, I attended a training class in the morning and had back to back appointments the rest of the day. I felt worn out after both of these shifts.

On the day I had a four hour shift, I took the opportunity to attend a networking event to identity other part time job opportunities, essentially making it an eight hour workday too. Of course, I don't expect any sympathy for this element :-)

Evening commitments. Uncharacteristically, I had four evening commitments of three to four hours. Two evenings were devoted to a plumbing class, which I am used to since I have been attending them for a few weeks already. However, for this week, I volunteered to sub for a tennis league and we took our daughter to a local school fundraising carnival on another night.

I felt a bit overbooked, with only one free evening during the week.

Exercise intensity. I consciously increased my exercise frequency to five days a week, with three days of strength training and two days of cardio. All done in the mooring before work or other activities. Coincidentally, subbing for tennis added a third instance of cardio during the week.

Physically, my body was beat and I now realize I can't take it like I did in my twenties and thirties:-)

Winter cold. I seem to have caught the latest cold that is circulating in our area. My spouse and daughter got it the first round, and I got sick with the second round. Since I've caught the cold, I've felt tired and achy, even more so than just from exercising.

Individually, none of the elements was a issue. It was the occurrence of all of them during the same week that made it challenging. Hopefully, being old is not the real reason :-) At this point, I expect next week will be easier as I get over the cold, have only two evening commitments for the week, and cut back on my strength training for a couple weeks.

For more on Reaping the Rewards, check back every Friday for a new segment.

Photo Credit: morgueFile.com, RAYWAL65

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