Tips for working 12 hour shifts?

[finboy]

I am looking at a job that is shift based, 12 hour shifts switching days then to nights after the rest period. It is local, so no worries about being out in the field. Previously I was in a career that required long hours, but there was flexibility around working from home, or making up the hours if needed. Having never worked straight 12 hour shifts consistently from a workplace, I was wondering if anyone here had tips for balancing out life with family/friends, getting things done around the house/appointments/general life, exercising, etc. while working a couple weeks on end with 12 hour days.

[ExtraSlow]

Best advice I ever had when I was dealing with guys working oilpatch shifts is to improve your diet before and during shifts. Don't fall into the rut of thinking coke and chips or red bull will get you through the shifts, they may for a while, but at greatly reduced mental and physical capacity, which is a surefire road to an injury or accident.

If it's not a very active job, try to get as much activity in as possible. If it's a more physical job, try to vary the types of strain you are putting on your body through the shift if possible.

Good luck with your new opportunity. Is it an RTOC or something?

[vengie]

As mentioned above, stay away from sugary stuff. Snacks will be your friend (carrots, snap peas, nuts, granola bars), drink plenty of water, and depending on the environment a bag of spitz is fantastic.

[finboy]

Desk job, in the core, ops focused. Might have to consider getting a pass to the y or something, I would think keeping exercised after work would help, and give me something to do in the 2-3 waking hours I would have to myself, lol

[ExtraSlow]

I have heard from a few guys that they find exercise helps them re-normalize" their body clocks when shifting from nights to days.

Eat lots of fibre, drink lots of water, get paid to piss and shit for 12 hours a day, Profit.

[CompletelyNumb]

Stand up and walk around often. Do some sit ups and pushups. Just keep the blood flowing. Eat right as well. That will combat any work related issues with sleep or health.

As for making it work with your social life and home life, that's different for everyone.

[schurchill39]

Find a website to waste time on that updates frequently like reddit. I consistently do 12-16 hour shifts in an office type setting and its going to be the only thing that keeps you sane during the night.

Also always have a cell phone charger and a water bottle. You'll drink enough water that you'll get up often to pee which gives you an excuse to stretch your legs.

For the social life: prepare yourself to miss out on things and not be able to plan things very far in advance. Work is going to come first and its going to come first at all sorts of weird hours and stupid times. Explain to your SO the type of work that you're going to do and stress the night/day shift thing.

Appointments: Do as much as you can online or via email to avoid banks etc. When you do have to go for a doctors/dentist/massage appointment try and make a day out of it because you may not get another chance for a few weeks. My days off are usually just as busy as the days that I work because I don't know when the next time I will have that much time to myself to get all my running around done.

Find a gym either at the building you will be working in or nearby.

[Darkane]

Originally posted by finboy
Desk job, in the core, ops focused. Might have to consider getting a pass to the y or something, I would think keeping exercised after work would help, and give me something to do in the 2-3 waking hours I would have to myself, lol

Best advice I can give is DO NOT FEEL SORRY FOR YOURSELF. So we work nights, it's a choice. Worst thing ever is feeling mopy and down because youre working odd hours.

As said above, workout, eat right and pound water.

I'm almost 8 years straight now of shifts and did 3 straight years in the control room similar to what you'll be doing I'm sure.

Stand up every 20 minutes. Stretch. Use company benefits for massages.

[phil98z24]

Get a routine going for your transitions between days and nights, or from coming off nights into time off. Make it a hard schedule and don't deviate. Use your first day off from nights to sleep a few hours, get up, do ALL your errands and low brainpower stuff, and then get back to normal the following days.

Exercise, and commit to it. Make sure you are doing some good cardio, as shift work is very hard on heart health. You also need to workout and help deal with your body's changing insulin resistance and metabolic issues.

Eat healthy and eat smart, and stay away from sugar and coffee overnight. Drink herbal tea and slam water like it's going out of style. Don't eat heavy overnight and try and eat like you would as normal, as your body will still operate to some degree as if it was sleeping and your digestive processes will be all over the place.

Get your friends and family used to missing a few things here and there, and be ready for you being tired sometimes and not being "yourself". It's not so bad after awhile, but it will take some adjustment.

Most of all, and I cannot stress this enough: your sleep hygiene is CRITICAL. Go to blackoutblinds.ca, buy a light blocker from them. Turn your phone over, and don't have any ambient light in the room. Don't drink alcohol before bed, and have a light snack.

When I started with CPS we had an awful shift schedule that involved week long sets of nights alternating with days for a week, etc, and only 3 days off between. It was awful, but I learned quickly how to make the best of it. We work a phenomenal schedule on the street now, but even with the reduction in nights I still apply these principals. I've tried everything and have pretty much figured it out, so hopefully this is some help.

[Black Gts]

For 24 hr switch days to nights I found great success in going to the bar and drinking heavily, sleeping all day and going to your night shift. Keep in mind I was 20 and had a roughnecks salary haha.

[finboy]

Thanks for the tips guys, sounds like this could be a good reason to get off my shitty diet/mopey unemployed lacking exercise mindset

[Darkane]

Originally posted by finboy
Thanks for the tips guys, sounds like this could be a good reason to get off my shitty diet/mopey unemployed lacking exercise mindset

Yeah. Definitely.

Forgot to mention: don't put yourself into the oh I only have 2-3 hours of waking time for myself. Doesn't work like that.

Sleep is no longer: "I need 8-9 hours or else I'm grumpy"

It's now: I have a schedule to follow. Train, eat, cook, sleep, work. All should get the same attention. If your performance suffers work on sleep quality NOT quantity. I've tried working out less, sleeping more and after one month it made it worse.

For over 5 years I slept 6-7hours. Now I'm in a camp and can afford to maintain my schedule and sleep an hour more. So that's a win - but you'll have a commute everyday like I used too.

You'll get your own schedule down. One of the worst things is seeing people change year after year and destroying themselves because of the job. Your SO must understand life is going to change for her as well.

[gqmw]

As said before, schedule is so important and working out does wonders. I usually spend 12-18 hours in the office, so I usually try to fit in a workout either around dinner time or after work. It seriously helps you stay focused and gets the blood going.

One thing I noticed though is that a lot of people I work with, they eat lunch and dinner at the desk (often working straight through these meals). Don't do it, it's unhealthy and they're probably contributing to a fatter behind. If you pack food, then at least take a walk or something at various points during the shift. I never pack food for the reason that it allows me to get up and out of the office to refresh my brain (but that also means that if I'm busy or if I have back to back things, I might not get food till late, trade off I guess).

Eat well, exercise and drink lots of fluids! Good luck.