Why My Work Schedule Sucks.

I currently work an entry level job at a printing press.  It’s not a bad job.  It’s good money, and the work itself is virtually stress-free.  I don’t have to use social/leadership skills I do not possess, so my job is pretty secure.   The problem, however, is with my schedule, which is based on 12 hour night shifts.  Working this job is easy, but 12 hours of straight work is still a long, tedious time.  Even though I’m happy to have a job, these are the reasons why my work schedule sucks.

I Eat a Lot of Bland/Crappy Food

Before work, I pack a lunch consisting of two PB&J sandwiches, which I gulp down without relish throughout the work day.  I also use vending machine junk during the work day as fuel to help me get through it.  In addition to that, I have to abstain from any spicy/good-tasting food within 12 hours of work so that I can go to work without extreme flatulence/diarrhea.  On the plus side, this is usually keeping my weight in check.  

I Don’t Really Fully Adjust To the Sleep Schedule

On one hand, working nights isn’t as bad as when I was in the Navy, when I might have to wake up in the middle of the night for watch then have another watch at another time the next day.  That was a schedule that was literally impossible to adapt to.  This sleep schedule is plausible since it is constant.  However, you still don’t fully adjust.  Your body still wants an excuse to reset its Circadian Rhythm to a normal daytime routine.  The result is that I don’t want to go to sleep at 9am whereas I had no trouble going to bed before 10pm on a normal schedule.  When you find yourself unable to sleep during the day, and you have to work that night, it’s a terrible feeling.   It’s still light out when it’s time to get some sleep before work.  I often find myself resorting to NyQuil to knock myself out (which actually has the exact opposite of its intended purpose; it doesn’t put you to sleep when you want to, but it makes you groggy when it’s time to go to work.) and swilling Red Bull during work to keep myself perky (I’m worried about its long-term health effects).  On my days off, I often get in over 12 hours of sleep to compensate, which eats into my leisure time.

I Can’t Plan Ahead on Anything

Most people have a constant work week that they can plan around.  My workplace’s schedule is pretty much “you’re working whatever random day we feel like making you work.”  I get a schedule that tells me what days I’m working for the next week, and it isn’t updated until Friday or Saturday, so I never know what I’m doing more than week away.  Though I get plenty of days off during most weeks, they’re completely random.  I usually cannot visit out-of-town family unless I request three days off to fly there and back.  Since my days off are random as opposed to on weekends, they usually don’t coincide with those of my loved ones.  Hell, just yesterday, I asked a couple cousins if they wanted to go shooting on my day off.  They had days off themselves, but they were all entertaining guests all day, and when they asked me to postpone it until the next day, when I was working almost every day afterward for the next week.        

                                                      

 I Don’t Truly Have Any Free Time until My Days Off

With an 8-hour day, people can do things during the work week, but I can’t.  Sure, I goof around, but it costs me sleep time.  When I get to work, I pretty much have to start getting ready for bed.  This means on my days off, I have to perform recreational triage.  Do I watch my Netflix movie now or sit on it for another week?  This is why I usually don’t do anything constructive with my free time, like cleaning or artwork.

 The Internet Apparently Sucks At Night

Seeing as how my free time is usually spent at night, there’s not much to do except stay indoors.  Of course, one primary means of amusement is the internet, but unfortunately it sucks at night.  I don’t mean become the other users aren’t up yet, since my online interactions aren’t in real time.  What I mean is that it’s difficult to get to even major websites, even when I have a good signal.  For some reason the 6-8 am hours (my evening) are particularly bad. 

The Entire World Is Working On the Opposite Schedule I Am

And the most obvious one.  If you ever need to conduct any business outside actually showing up to work (eg: fixing/registering car, shopping) you have to cut into your sleep schedule.  This gets even more frustrating when trying to eat out.  Often, I’d like to get some nice food before I turn in, but most all of the decent restaurants are closed until late morning at earliest.  This is something you don’t appreciate until you work nights.  I’m starting to understand the aggression of these man-eating creatures creatures of the night in horror movies.  After all, they don’t have many options. 

Nightmare Moon was set to destroy all life on the planet with eternal darkness because she was tired of having to eat at Waffle House all the time.