Burning The Midnight Oil

We're no strangers to burning midnight oil

The Canberra Business Council chief executive survives on five hours' sleep a night, is at meetings by 7am and still answering emails as late as midnight.

But she's not the only one subjecting herself to such madness.

Latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show one in five Australians is working too hard.

The Australian Social Trends report showed 21 per cent of people worked more than 60 hours a week in 2007, with the majority of those being male, partnered and working white-collar jobs.

Close to 40 per cent were managers - mostly in health, education and welfare services while another third were professionals such as doctors, teachers and lawyers.

The thought of such long days may be enough to exhaust some people but for Ms Faulks , the figures come as no surprise.

''Most of the people I deal with [through the business council] are in similar positions to me,'' she said,

''They run their own businesses, work long hours, attend back-to-back meetings and do their bookwork at odd hours and on weekends.''

Ms Faulks could sympathise with the 36 per cent who wanted more recreational time and 24per cent who missed their families but said she had no qualms with putting in the extra hours.

''I was lucky I didn't have to work while my children were young and now that they've all grown and left home, I don't have those daily family responsibilities,'' she said.

''I work long hours ... but I do it because I love my job, I am passionate about what I'm doing and I am not prepared to do a job unless I give it 150 per cent.

''I think you'll find most of the people I deal with are the same. I know some people feel pressured by employers to work more hours but ... the people I talk to are passionate about what they do and are generally energetic people.''

The report suggests life isn't all work and no play, especially in the ACT.

Figures show 93 per cent of the territory's residents attended at least one cultural event or institution in 2009-10 compared to 86 per cent across the country.

Visits to the cinema were most popular (67 per cent) nationwide, followed by zoos and aquariums (37 per cent), botanic gardens (35per cent) and libraries (34 per cent).

However, less than a third of Australians participated in physical activity more than twice a week.

Burning the Midnight Oil

But for others, do not feel badly if by 10pm you are exhausted and ready to hit the hay “early”. That’s not early! Your night oil has been burning for 3 and a half hours already and if you are going to rise early as the Proverbs 31 woman does (she rises while it is still dark – which is around 6am this time of year). Then 10pm is a good bed time.

I've beens studying pd31 as well and using Matthew Henry's commentary as a resource!

I want to add to her light not going out…for me, this also reminds me that my "light" does not go out when it comes to caring for my family. I am always aware, even at 2am, and ready to be alert if I need to be. If a babe needs me at 1am, I'm there. 3am, I'm there. Know what I mean? Always ready to care for my family.

I noticed that the only examples you gave of profitable women were women that stay at home. While I think they're definitely deserving of that title for their work, I believe it's also appropriate to recognize women who don't work in the home. I have a great friend who is the Executive Director of a Pregnancy Care Center and, by any measure, her work is profitable for her family as well as thousands of women in our area.

I enjoy the blog, but would like to not feel like we must be stay at home wives to be a Proverbs 31 woman.

I love your Proverbs 31 series… and I am striving to copy her example. So, thank you for posting these encouraging words for us.

I just wanted to add one thing. I, too, used to picture having to work well past midnight to be in line with this verse, but Sarah Mae's interpretation is closer than any other to the real meaning of this passage.

It was the norm in biblical times (all over, including in Israelite homes) to keep a lamp burning at ALL TIMES – this would include overnight. Back then it would have been well nigh impossible to do anything at night, much less in a hurry, if you had to go get a flame started from scratch first.

So the Proverbs 31 woman was ready to do whatever needed to be done for her family, even at night while she slept. This would mean the possibility, at least, of getting up and checking the lamp to see that it still had enough oil, but readiness otherwise, as well.

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