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Last Updated on July 23, 2023
For some people, shift work is nothing but a headache. For others, shift work is incredibly beneficial. No matter which side of the fence you stand on, there are ways to survive shift work with your mind and body intact. If you’ve found yourself being assigned to shifts, here are five survival tips:
1. Get Your Schedule Straight
During the initial period of adjusting to shift work, it’s common to overlook crucial appointments. As your brain adapts to the new schedule, you might struggle to keep track of time. To prevent this, always have a calendar nearby and jot down all essential appointments. Additionally, mark off the days as they pass to stay on top of your schedule and remember important events such as your children’s sports games and lunch dates with your partner.
2. Paint Your Room
If you have a bright, cheery, yellow bedroom, you’re going to find it very difficult to sleep during the day. Bright colors reflect even a small amount of light, making it difficult to sleep in complete darkness. If you’re struggling to fall asleep, consider painting your bedroom walls with darker shades like blue, green, purple, or red. These colors absorb light rather than reflecting it, ensuring a darker and more conducive environment for sleep.
3. Cover Your Windows
Getting a good night’s sleep is crucial to maintaining good health and productivity. However, various factors can negatively impact our sleep, such as light entering the bedroom. If you find yourself struggling to fall or stay asleep due to light filtering into your bedroom, it may be time to consider investing in light-blocking blinds or curtains.
These types of window treatments are specifically designed to block out light, ensuring that your bedroom is as dark as possible. Alternatively, if you’re attached to your current window treatments, you can still improve the light-blocking ability of your windows by applying a light-blocking film. Ultimately, the choice of window treatment you select can significantly impact your sleep quality. So, don’t wait until you start experiencing restless nights due to light entering your bedroom.
4. Adjust Your Eating Patterns
Maintaining a healthy eating schedule is essential for getting quality sleep during shift work. While you might be used to having breakfast at 7 am, eating a full meal before going to bed no longer makes sense. Instead, it’s crucial to adjust your eating habits to keep you energized and promote better sleep.
For instance, if you work from 10 pm to 6 am, consider having your breakfast when you wake up in the afternoon, your lunch just before work, and dinner during your lunch break. When you get home, try eating a piece of fruit to avoid going to bed on an empty stomach. This way, you can ensure that you have enough energy to stay alert during work and promote better sleep quality during the day.
5. Share Your Schedule
If you’re working shifts, interruptions from phone calls and people knocking on your door can quickly disrupt your sleep and make it challenging to stay alert during work. To avoid this, it’s crucial to share your schedule with family and friends, especially if they’ve never worked shifts themselves.
Let them know when you’ll be sleeping and when you’ll be available to talk and socialize. By doing so, you can minimize disruptions during your sleep time and ensure that you’re well-rested for work. Remember, effective communication and planning with loved ones can significantly improve your shift work experience and promote better sleep quality.
David Allen’s Getting Things Done has become one of the most influential business books of its era, and the ultimate book on personal organization. “GTD” is now shorthand for an entire way of approaching professional and personal tasks, and has spawned an entire culture of websites, organizational tools, seminars, and offshoots.
With proper adjustment and preparation, you may find that working shift work can be quite enjoyable. One of the benefits of working the night shift is that you can avoid crowds during typical business hours, such as at the bank or doctor’s office. Additionally, you may have the opportunity to cook breakfast for your family in the morning.
By following the tips mentioned above, you can make your transition to shift work as seamless as possible and enjoy the benefits of working non-traditional hours. With a few adjustments to your routine and lifestyle, you can maintain good health, productivity, and a positive outlook on your work schedule.
This second edition is updated with the latest research, with three additional chapters to cover new topics, and make the guide even clearer. Every night shift worker should have this guide.
