At work, we’ve recently changed our schedule so instead of long weeks where we work 8-hour shifts of 6-7 days at a time, we are now scheduled to work no more than 3 days at a time for 12-hour shifts, a schedule we’ve all been waiting for for quite a while. It has numerous benefits and not many downsides. However, I’ve found a few.
It makes it difficult finding time to write! Because I wake up, work out, and immediately go to work, I don’t have much time before the shift to write and after the long 12-hour shift, I just want to veg out so writing afterward seems worse than doing an intense workout because it’s a mental workout, one my mind is already toasted for. On my days off, I’ve been able to get a little writing done but because I work nights and sleep during the day, I run into the same problem on my off days because my social life calls for me to do things before everyone else goes to sleep and then I hit the same issue of trying to write after my brain is fried for the day. I’ve gotten a little better at it, mainly using blogs to get back to my daily writing routine that I’d established before only because I don’t have enough time to sleep, work out, write, and work all in the same day with ease.
I’ve still been reading but not as much as I should be because I read before I go to bed which encapsulates maybe 15 minutes of reading before I fall asleep with the book on my chest. I would be able to spend more of my days off reading and writing if it didn’t seem like every day off included me traveling or having to make plans to catch up on what I’ve missed due to work but considering how our previous schedule was, this is a blessing because then, I had no social life at all. I was always at work, rarely off on the weekend, and it was becoming a massive strain on my personal life and affecting those around me. The problems this new schedule brings are good problems to have. Actually having a social life outside of work is awesome, being forced to use time management is an incredibly valuable skill, and having more days off to plan things with family and friends to enjoy this life while we all have it is priceless.
I’ve seen people who’ve dedicated their every breath to work and while it may bring in more money, at the end of their career, no monuments are built in their visage and no one on their deathbed wishes they’d spent more time working. They all wish they would’ve spent more time with their family and enjoyed their lives while they could. That’s what I want to do. I don’t want to get 30 years into my career only to find out I missed out on incredible experiences, missing what I love to do, and missing the people that cared about me the most. Yes, it’s great having money but I’ve never seen a hearse pulling a trailer filled with cash. Enjoy life and the people in it while you can.
Drew Schroeder 