A shift question (or, what would you do?)

[frugalone]

I am starting my new job tomorrow. Once the semester starts, and someone has been hired to fill the job I formerly held at night, I will be working from early afternoon to about 9 at night.

Here's the question: I've never worked a shift like this before. I wonder if I should have dinner before I go to work, or when I come home? Should I plan the majority of my activites for before work, or after? I will have one weekday off, so I can do doctor's appts. etc. then. Obviously, I don't want to miss all the daylight (especially during winter).

When I worked 9 to 5, I got up at 7 a.m., and left most of my activities for evening. This is a bit awkward and different.

What do you think?

[Tradd]

16-17 years ago, I worked afternoons for about two years - 4 pm to midnight. I loved it! I'm a night owl, anyway. I would stay up until 4-5 am, then sleep until about 2 pm.

[jp1]

Personally I'd probably plan to have some time both after work and before work. I'd go home, eat dinner, do typical evening activities for a couple of hours (reading/watching tv/whatever it is that you like to do in the evening), then go to bed at 1 or 2am, get up 8 hours later and have time to do errands or chores, exercise, etc, before going to work.

I remember reading a random article years ago about some town during WWII (I think) where the factories were running 3 shifts 24 hours/day and business was booming with manufacturing for the war effort. One of the things it mentioned was that the bars were open 24 hours/day because the graveyard shift people getting off work at 8am would go out for drinks after work the same as if they'd gotten off at 5pm and wanted to go to happy hour. I'm not sure I'd want to live such a completely flipped upside down schedule like that, but I think it'd be easier to do that then try to run straight home to bed after work. I'm usually too wired right after work that sleeping would be difficult.

[Tussiemussies]

I am starting my new job tomorrow. Once the semester starts, and someone has been hired to fill the job I formerly held at night, I will be working from early afternoon to about 9 at night.

Here's the question: I've never worked a shift like this before. I wonder if I should have dinner before I go to work, or when I come home? Should I plan the majority of my activites for before work, or after? I will have one weekday off, so I can do doctor's appts. etc. then. Obviously, I don't want to miss all the daylight (especially during winter).

When I worked 9 to 5, I got up at 7 a.m., and left most of my activities for evening. This is a bit awkward and different.

What do you think?

Don't know if you are also in school, it does sound like you are. I worked a shift once from 3PM to 11:30 PM and I did everything I had to do before work. I got a lot more done working this shift although I had no social life!

[SteveinMN]

I've never worked such a shift (I did a 3 am to 1 pm for a little while, but I was single and living at home. My biggest responsibility then was to get to work in one piece). My ex-wife, though, did a 10 am to 8 pm shift for a couple of years.

I don't know if you're a "night person" or "morning person"; that may affect when you want to go to sleep and wake up. With those hours, short of a little grocery shopping, there probably won't be too many outside errands you'll be able to run after work, though you'll still be able to run a load of laundry, etc. when you get home. If you want/need some time to unwind after work, that will be the post-work time.

[RosieTR]

I'd plan to get a bunch done before work, unless you are a pretty strong owl. Maybe you can make a habit of doing a walk/run/bike ride/whatever around noon to get some sunshine and exercise, then you could shower (if necessary) and go to work. As for the dinner thing, I suppose it depends on how you like to eat. Small meals/snacks or a big dinner? Do you like to spend time cooking or just throw a few things together quickly? What are the heating facilities like at the job? I personally prefer to cook at home because to me microwaves make the texture of many things yucky, so if it were me I'd eat dinner at home. However, I am fine going for a couple of hours kind of hungry and am picky about food. DH is opposite-he'd microwave anything or even eat it cold rather than be a little hungry for awhile. Other people wouldn't like to prepare to bring a bunch of stuff, others would have trouble deciding what to eat or taking the time to cook when they got home. You might have to experiment at bit for a couple weeks to see what works best. As for my experience, DH worked a 10 hr, 2-midnight shift for awhile at one point. He ate dinner there but had to have a beer or something for about an hour after he got home before he could go to bed and sleep.

[iris lily]

You will have a dinner break. Why not eat dinner then? I don't understand why you are looking at options that are only before or after your work time.

Do your activities in the morning.

[try2bfrugal]

I used to work 1 - 10 pm. I would not do too much before one since I am more of a night owl, but that kind of wasted the whole day with just working or maybe going out after work with friends. If I had to do things over I would try to do more in the morning.

I had a vitamin D deficiency a few years back so now I am very careful to try get some sun each day when the weather is nice. So for me that would be another reason to get out in the morning.

[morning girl]

When I haved worked evening shifts, I always needed time to unwind after work. This means not going to bed for an hour or two after work. Usually sleeping in a bit in the morning. Dinner is on lunch break.

[heydude]

I think it really depends on you. Are you a day person or a night person?

I find that I like to sleep in and therefore I do not get up until I have to work and end up doing things at night. It does suck when I have a day off and actually want to do things more so during the day (because I am used to sleeping in so much during my work day).

I think you will find your own rhythm once you get in to it and figure out when you want to sleep.

A lot of people cannot just simply go to bed after work. They need time to decompress and eat.

[razz]

you will try doing different things and find the path that works well for you. The hours are wonderful, I think, for doing many things and freedom to enjoy most of the daylight.
I think that you are feeling some tension from the new position and releasing that tension with concern about how to plan your day. It will work out well for you.

[frugalone]

Hi again,
Still haven't figured this one out yet as I am starting my actual *real* shift this week. Up till now, I have been working till midnight because we didn't have anyone to cover that shift. We did hire a young lady to cover it and so my real shift begins tomorrow.
I have bought a thermos food jar so I can bring a hot meal to work. I'm leaning toward getting up in the early morning, doing some exercise, household stuff etc. before work, and then saving my after-work hours for maybe a small snack and spending time with my pets etc. Then off to bed.
I get a little wound up about this stuff because I need to eat frequent small meals for health reasons. So I'm thinking if I get up and have breakfast, I may or may not have time for lunch before I head to work. I won't be able to have my dinner break till 4 or 4:30. Maybe some sort of snack/mini meal can bridge the gap.
Razz, yes, I am feeling tension. I'm settling in but still nervous about things in general.

[iris lily]

As far as the frequent need for food intake, do you have paid break times? I mean 15 minutes breaks, not unpaid lunch or dinner period. I assume so, and that when you can eat crackers or half an apple or whatever, covering your stated need for small meals frequently.

Is your position salaried or hourly?

[frugalone]

I am hourly. I do get paid 15-minute breaks. No one seems to mind if I snack at my desk, however.



As far as the frequent need for food intake, do you have paid break times? I mean 15 minutes breaks, not unpaid lunch or dinner period. I assume so, and that when you can eat crackers or half an apple or whatever, covering your stated need for small meals frequently.

Is your position salaried or hourly?

[bunnys]

It does depend if you're a night owl or not. I have worked all kinds of shifts including 11P-7A. (That shift was terrible. At around 12:30 every night I started to think of the rest of the city and how they were all settling down for the night or already asleep and I was JEALOUS.) But every morning when I was driving home I knew they were driving to work. When I did that shift I slept most of the day and it was really depressing because it was winter and I never saw the sunlight.

I would suggest you come home and try to go to bed by 12 and then wake up in the morning by 8 or 9A and start my day.

Actually, your shift is a pretty good one bc you can pretty easily still stay on a relatively normal schedule. Plus, if you're working @ a desk it doesn't sound like you'll be getting a worked up as you would if you were a cocktail waitress or something. Those kind of jobs make it virtually impossible to wind down and go to sleep at a decent hour.

[frugalone]

I am a bit of a night owl. But, like you, bunnys, I have found it can be pretty depressing if you never get to see the daylight. Especially if there's nice weather! And in winter...ew...

My job is pretty mellow so I imagine I won't be too wound up to sleep after work.