The golden age of work is gone. Modern life has us working long hours, contributing large amounts to shrinking health benefits, taking fewer and shorter vacations --and all without job security. Stress? We have it. If you've been reading about the effects of stress, then you know it's a contributing factor to being out of shape, high blood pressure and dozens of other maladies.

Don't you think it's time to look-out for number one? If you allow yourself to become unhealthy under the pressure of work - then you're not going to be any good to yourself, your employers, friends or family. There's an old saying, "the in-box is always full." Nothing could be more true. It's time to slow down, take a deep breath and then uncompromisingly schedule time for yourself into your day.

How My Mother Worked Herself Into The Ground

I want to share my mother's "story" with you. I'll keep it brief. You know those 80's women... the well dressed ones you would see emerging from cars, busses and subways wearing sneakers. That was my mom, a 12-hour a day, 60+ hours per week money-producing powerhouse. She was fast, efficient, performing the work of 2 ordinary humans and planning office parties, buying me cool stuff and pre-cooking the whole week's meals on a Sunday afternoon.

My mom smoked to deal with the stress - and exercise was not in her vocabulary. She also enjoyed gourmet food. Then one year in her late 50's, her dedication to her job lead to exhaustion and pneumonia. I watched my mother age 10 years overnight. While she did make a brief recovery, within 6-8 months time, she came down with pneumonia again -and that's when she was "retired." Put out to pasture. The psychological impact of a forced early retirement only added to my mother's physical issues. She spent the last 10 years of her life not feeling well -and dealing with a myriad of health issues before she finally passed away.

Getting It Into Perspective

I'm sorry if I've completely depressed you now - - but I had to do it because there's something for all of us to learn from my mother's story.

1. Don't make yourself indispensable at work - because no one really is.
2. Uncompromisingly schedule health & exercise time for yourself into your day.
3. Finish one task at a time -and don't be afraid to leave tasks for the next day.

What I'm advising is that you do your work; do all that can be done within a managed period of time. It's a given that many people will have to work more than the mythical 40 hour week. However, your health should always be your first priority - because it's the foundation for everything else in this life.

I know in the last blog I mentioned our impending outing to Huntington Beach… well that never happened. Like all best laid plans that one fell apart almost as quickly as it was made. The guy who had the place, ended up working all night and the rest of us ended up turning a “just one beer for the road” into a 4am bender… Hey it happens, especially when you’re with friends.

We did however get out over the 4th of July weekend -and it was awesome. Weston, Richard and I met at El Porto, our usual surfing spot, on Sunday morning and hit the water. The waves weren’t bad and we caught a few good rides. Richard, the best surfer of our group, usually likes the waves bigger, but for Weston and I, they were just right. Weston and I have surfed together for years and know each other’s style pretty well. We routinely catch the same wave and always surf with the unspoken rule, “If you can catch it… get it”.

There’s nothing like surfing down the line, looking back and seeing a buddy on the same wave. You grin like dogs, shout commands, and try to figure out how to do something cool with it, only to end up waste high in the wash before you know it. We have managed to patent one move though; it’s called the “Tackle Your Buddy Off The Wave on a Slow Day” move. This move is usually met with awe by those around us who are sure we’re going to come up swinging. But when we resurface from the wash laughing our asses off, most just shake their heads with a grin as if to say “Kooks”. But hey, we’re the Wood Crew.. what do you expect..

So, other than that, it was another successful outing. No one’s equipment got broke, of which I’m usually the cause, maybe that’s why they call me “The Bruiser”, and we got our fix for another day. And the more I think about it, “fix” is the operative word. Because the more you surf, the more you want to do it, till as you know, it takes over people’s lives. But for those of us who can fight off the urge to sell everything and move to Costa Rica, a quick fix is all you need.