Shiftwork

There are many times when, it’s true, that it’s difficult to maintain a structured schedule.  Outings and activities come up to disrupt a schedule.  You cannot do something, because of time constraints or planned activities.  Others in the household can also have a strong effect on what you can or cannot do on specific days/nights.  But I must argue that a fractured schedule, that of a shiftworker, is much harder to maintain.  Switching from nights to days is a big part of that difficulty, as my body no longer has any idea of when it should be up, and when it should be sleeping.  I get tired at random times of day and night, and if I don’t listen to my body, end up unable to sleep when I “should.”  Beyond that... as a shift worker with a few days off and no one else in the house... it is hard to force myself into any schedule at all.  

I can stay up to any hour of the night I want.  If I choose to start a movie at 2am, I can.  I can read until the sun comes up.  I can sleep the day away.  But the stores are only open certain hours of the day.  Other people are only willing to do things or talk on the phone certain hours of the day.  Making any kind of noise, such as playing music or watching a movie too loud etc is just not polite in an apartment building if it’s past a certain hour of the night.  And getting myself up at 6am for a day shift... is very hard if I’ve spent the last three days sleeping in past noon.  

And yet, here I am again, up at 3am... wondering why I didn’t head to bed before midnight.  And wishing it was just a little easier to maintain a normal schedule.  I think it's bedtime!