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Survey: Women Need 82 More Min Per Day. Moms Everywhere: That’s It?

A survey conducted by OnePoll, on behalf of Garnier Fructis, reveals that the average woman needs an extra 82 minutes a day to accomplish everything she needs to get done. Huh. 82 minutes.

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I don’t know who these 2,000 American women are who made up the poll, but as a mother of 3 kids, I can tell you straight up, 82 more minutes in a day is not nearly enough.

According to the survey, 55% of women feel “slightly overwhelmed” by their commitments and said that they are too busy week after week. Slightly overwhelmed? Who are these people?

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So I did my own informal poll. 100% of the women I know? Feel like they’re constantly running on empty.

Other findings of the OnePoll survey include:

  • 31% of women have less than 30 minutes of me-time per day
  • 38% of women haven’t taken an afternoon to themselves in over a month
  • 50% of women have given up a hobby because they didn’t have time for it
  • 24% of women said they would be willing to give up caffeine in exchange for extra time
  • 11% of women would dump their significant other in order for extra time

And I’m guessing all these women are mothers. Except for the ones who said they would give up caffeine. They are definitely NOT mothers. Coffee is life, people. Liiiiffe. Want to know how I get things done? Coffee.

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At this stage of life, the days are full of taking care of the needs of others – the kids, the spouse, the boss, the dog (Lord bless the poor dog). There are bills to pay, errands to run, a house to clean, babies to change, hungry mouths to feed, and laundry. So much laundry. There are a thousand questions to answer, extra curricular activities to get to, lost items to find, tantrums to tame, playtime, bath time, bedtime. There is NO spare time. It’s 10:00 pm and I am just getting around to putting the clothes in the dryer that have been sitting in the washing machine since 6:00 this morning. Did I mention the never-ending laundry?

It’s the stage where the minute hand barely seems to move and the hours are so long, but at the same time you feel like you’re constantly running out of time. You spin your wheels, repeating the same tasks, the same motions, the same words, over and over again, but you fail to ever really get ahead. By the time your head finally hits the pillow, you wish that you had done more. Accomplished more. Finished more.

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And when you get up in the morning? After being woken up repeatedly in the night by your beloved offspring who apparently do not enjoy sleeping half as much as you do — because they are crazy — you get to hit the day running. That’s right. The research also found that mornings tend to be the busiest time of the day for women. To which I say:

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Most mornings I’m screaming, “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!” as I attempt to usher three little humans with zero concept of time out the door. There are library books to find, lunches to pack, school agendas to sign, hair to braid, and shoes to tie.

Also most mornings? The breakfast dishes are left scattered on the counter, the dishwasher sits full, my hair remains unwashed, and the dog barely has two minutes outside to pee.

Women are told that we can have it all, but can we? Really? We struggle to find balance between our responsibilities, our relationships, our careers, ourselves. We are constantly bombarded with messages of the importance of self-care. But who has time for that?

So what would women do with extra time on their hands? More of the same? I don’t know about you, but I would spend it in the bathroom, blissfully alone and uninterrupted. Without someone calling, “Moooooommm! I need you!” Without a hand or a note appearing underneath the door. Without a little fist banging in time to “Mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy.” Oh, and I would sleep. A lot. Not in the bathroom.

Sleep also happened to be the number one choice of the women polled. Followed by reading, exercising, taking a walk, cooking, and learning a new hobby.

While I agree that there are not enough hours in the day, would an extra hour and 22 minutes be enough? Would it be enough to check off everything on our to-do list? Including ourselves? I doubt it.

Try an extra 24 hours a day. Then we’ll talk.