Practicing for the overnight shift

[TNT]

My next shift (on Monday) will be my first overnight shift. After two months of going to bed early so I can be reasonably coherent when my day starts at 7:30AM, I now have to go to bed late so I can sleep late enough to still be reasonably coherent when my day ends at 7:30AM.

It seemed like a great idea when I volunteered for it. But here I am, at 11:00pm, ready to sleep... but two days from now, I'll just be getting warmed up at this hour.

I've got a feeling I'm going to be punchy enough to answer the phone, "Hello, thank you for calling. It's four AM. The internet is asleep. I'll be waking it up at 7:30AM."

Or, "Thank you for calling. I'll be happy to help you get connected again. Grab a hammer and screwdriver and we can get started."

Or, "Your internet's not working because you've already exceeded your daily allotment of porn... and it's only 4:30AM, dude. Try again at midnight... and pace yourself, okay?"

Or, "I'm going to do you a big favor and hang up. If I help you send that email you just wrote, she's going to be pissed at you forever when she reads it. After you sober up, you'll thank me for this."

Or, "Yeah, being offered $10 million to help the former President of Nigeria's wife's brother-in-law launder $50 million is a ripoff. Hold out for $15 million, then go for it. You're worth it."

[KhirasHY]

Only tricks I figured out for graveyards:

1) Food. Take a snack...crackers or something. It's harder to fall asleep if you're digesting something

2) Crap.

That's really as far as I got...I hate graveyards...

[powerboy]

I HATE graveyard. I worked it at one job, and never again. I would get home way to early in the morning, and cannot fall asleep, or if I did sleep, it would be the whole day. Plus I would have to wake up early 3 outta 5 days of the week, to pick up my Girlfriend at the time up from college. After I realized I was sleeping my life away, I talked to the manager to put me onto an earlier shift.

[friendofjimmyk]

Yeah graveyard is not fun. I have had to fill in here at my job twice. Which is BS! They were two shifts in the middle of my regular schedule that was 6:30a - 3pm. I had one day to re-coup on sleep and change my schedule between the two. It sucked.

[Becks]

Mountain Dew Code Red worked for me, the few times we did graveyard at Goodwill.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Only tricks I figured out for graveyards:

1) Food. Take a snack...crackers or something. It's harder to fall asleep if you're digesting something

2) Crap.

Really? I didn't know crapping could help get you through the night!

[TNT]

I'll think I'll be okay once I get used to it... I even got used to going in at 7:30am, and that goes completely against my natural wake / sleep cycle.

There were good reasons for taking this shift:
1. Friday, Saturday and Sunday off. In a 24/7 call center, that's pretty rare.
2. A couple extra dollars an hour.
3. Going from low man on day shift to one of the senior people on overnights during a time when our mission is undergoing a fundamental change.

And, best of all... it's a time-limited arrangement. The whole department is doing a shift bid in January, and part of the agreement I made when I volunteered for this (and I have it in writing) is that I get first pick of schedules.

There's going to be some unpleasant times, but all in all, it's a good career move.

[CRXPanda]

I loved graveyard.

The first time it was as night auditor (night desk) at Motel 6. I got "laid off" because the 3 power naps I'd take during the day caught up with me. I worked there 10p-6a, another job was Pizza Hut, 8a-12p, then I'd come back to drive deliveries from 4p-9p...rinse-repeat

The Wal Mart overnight stocker/truck crew was better. 11p-7a...I still did the Pizza Hut driver thing from whenever to 10p...I kept no-doz and anacin handy...never ate beef at the 2am lunchbreak, and if I HAD to power-nap...I went to the bathroom and set the alarm on my watch for 15 minutes. Nobody checks the toilets...they tale your word if you have to take a massive...just dont do it too much...they'll give you the damaged-label metamucil or something...hehe

[wagegoth]

I worked graveyard for 2 1/2 years

Suggestions:

Eat light, munch, not a meal. Spread your meal out. Eat foods that can't just be shoveled in your mouth.

Try not to get hooked on sugar as a boost.

B vitamins.

If you've got a cold, use a decongestant or a decongestant with Claritin; never use Benadryl.

Drink lots of water. A full bladder keeps you moving, if only to the restroom.

Caffeine tablets for the really bad nights. Use them sparingly; caffeine addiction is an ugly thing. I also keep Brown & Haley's caffeine mints with me at all times for a little boost.

If you can take a break outside, take it. A little fresh air will give you a boost. If you can, walk quickly down the corridor and back if you're feeling really sleepy.

Wear comfortable clothes, but not too comfortable. Same with shoes. Clothes that are too comfortable become pajamas mentally, and you'll find yourself drifting off.

When things are slow, do mentally challenging things: crosswords, logic problems, etc.

Chat if it's allowed.

And good luck!

[Brighid45]

I loved working graveyard. The first week of switching over is the toughest, then you either get used to it or you just learn to cope *chuckle*

Wagegoth's suggestions are excellent. I'd say with the munchies, stay away from anything with a lot of fat and/or protein, as they will make you sleepy.

B vitamins and CoQ10--both will help you stay awake without frying your brain the way caffeine does.

Try to get to bed and get up at the same time every day, even on your days off if you can manage it. It makes the transition to graveyard somewhat easier.

Enjoy the shift differential!

[TNT]

Thanks for the advice. This isn't looking good... I was awake at my typical 5:30AM and can't get back to sleep.

I've got a feeling that by the time this night is over, I'm going to be saying, "If you read it on the internet, it's got to be true. It's a law or something."

[Ringtail Z28]

The toughest part about working graveyard is getting used to the hours. After that it can be a blast.

Best way to get through it is keeping busy, hopefully you'll have access to the internet or a DVD player at work. My experience working overnight was different because that was Flow at Target, so keeping busy was easy.

I'm gonna disagree with a lot of people on the eating part, especially when it comes to sugar and caffiene. The last thing you want to do is get hooked on that stuff, the addiction and extra weight that goes with it isn't gonna be worth it. Eat fruit if anything.

Make sure you resist the urge to gorge yourself after your shift ends and then passing out. I was guilty of doing that many times and there's few ways to gain weight faster from what I've been told.

[dawntazz]

I love graveyars shift. ur up all nite when it's time to sleep noone is home. hello

that's good sleep.then get up when kid comes home help with homework, make supper,do dishes, get clothes washed, get kid ready for bed, go back to work.

my day goes so fast when im working graveyard

wont be hard to get used to

[TNT]

I made it through the first night... It was plenty weird. And even though we're all internet techs, we also have to do customer service between midnight and 7am. I did customer service for 9 months before moving to tech, so I know there's a big difference in how customers treat each department. But it was strange bouncing back and forth. I'll probably write a separate post about that.

And there are two customers who deserve a post of their own... Drunkman and Pornwoman. Actually, the latter is a simple story:

Pornwoman: My cable bill is just outrageous. Any ideas how I can lower it?
Me: Um... don't order $150 worth of smut movies every month?