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Surviving overtime
Kyougu
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Just got out of a meeting where it was told that due to a plan upgrade pretty much screwing our workload (oh the irony) we're shifting into mandatory OT. The hours laid out were 6am to 8pm, with Saturday weekend shifts from 7am to 5pm.
So yeah, I'll be working at the least 12 hour work days, so any tips to surviving this without driving myself crazy would be appreciated. My biggest concerns are finding time and energy to still go to the gym, not eating hundreds of snacks at my desk, and trying to keep some sort of social life.
So yeah, I'll be working at the least 12 hour work days, so any tips to surviving this without driving myself crazy would be appreciated. My biggest concerns are finding time and energy to still go to the gym, not eating hundreds of snacks at my desk, and trying to keep some sort of social life.
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Edit: Your social life will suffer, but it doesn't need to disappear. Talk to your friends when you can, maybe learn to like facebook and twitter as a way to stay connected to your social circle.
Like Cabsy says though, make sure you're eating healthy snacks, a good container of GORP trail mix can figuratively save your life.
I'd recommend avoiding going nuts with caffeine or energy drinks, you'll either lose sleep when you get off work from over consuming or crash out once the caffeine/sugar wears off.
Freeze a water bottle so you can keep a cold drink at hand without relying too heavily on vending machines. Maybe get some of that MIO stuff or whatever to add some flavor.
Get up and move around now and then, just to keep the blood pumping.
If you're usually friendly with them, this is the time to band together like you're going to war. Cheer them up when they're feeling miserable. Be positive when they bitch. Petty shit will make you hate work even more when you're pulling 60+ hour weeks
If you're on ambivalent terms or worse, now is not the time to stoke petty squabbles. If they try to start something, be the better man and defuse it. If you're just not that close to them, now is the time to make alliances.
It sounds corny because it is, but working as a team gets you through stuff a lot better than working as individuals
Some of the best friendships I have came from having to push through some 6-day weeks during summers with coworkers, and we've remained good friends ever since because you don't survive that without some camaraderie
Well, depending on how long your drive/ride/etc. is to and from work, a "12 hour day" could turn into a 14 hour day real quick. You will have to pick one or the other: gym or social life. You have to sleep, and yes, getting 8 hours is a big help when you are working 50%+ of the day. Don't eat candy and drink soda or energy drinks. Drink water and eat healthy snacks.
For some background, I work in construction/maintenance as a field engineer/PLC programmer. I usually do about 40-50 hours a month of overtime and have been doing so for the past 3 years now. A couple of months a year I might get away with only 20 hours or so extra, and sometimes I spike up to 180+ hours of overtime a month during a startup - in 2012, I did that 5 times.
Depending on how long your commute is, I would imagine you only have time to wake up, get ready for work (make sure to eat breakfast), go to work, work, come home from work, eat dinner, and go to sleep (make sure to sleep lots, your body needs time to recharge). At least that's how it works when I have to do 12 hour shifts.
I'd also take some time before you're too burnt out and load up your pantry/freezer with food that is close to real now. It won't be as healthy as fresh food but it will be better than fast food.
I would go with planning a fun vacation or something with the money you're making, and make sure to eat healthy food every day. I personally loved having a badass lunch whenever I was on long repeated shifts, it was kind of a ... One nice thing to have in the day I guess. But make it a healthy, badass lunch. Pound a bunch of sugar and refined carbs all day and your world will suck.
Social life will need to suffer. Don't let the gym slip, that will help a lot with handling the hours too and the fact that you're already into that routine makes me think you'll do just fine on these shitty (hopefully temporary) hours.
Also enjoy the extra money even If you are only doing 10 an hour. On a 70 hour week you'll see an extra 450 bucks, or 350ish after taxes, and more if you make more. Throw a party go to the beach. This is money for r&r not paying bills and saving, unless you are really hard up.
Invest in a crock pot and make some black beans or something on your day off to take with you for several work days during the week, you will save a shit ton of money and time with a crock pot. Go to Costco and buy the 3lb jugs of almonds and mixed nuts. Keep them at work, you may make a few friends by offering them to folks who didn't have time to pack a lunch, or are in need of a snack. I would also suggest that if you and your coworkers are on friendly enough terms you guys pool some cash and keep healthy snacks on-hand in the break room.
You don't get a social life, sorry. That's just the way it is. If you try and sacrifice sleep for one, work will become hell and you wont enjoy what little free time you have.
Edit: I'd like to say it's stupid when companies do this, the diminished returns on productivity make it not worthwhile for more than a couple of weeks at a time. If the overtime shifts drag out for months you just end out with people doing the same amount of work in a longer timeframe.