For the first time in many, many years, I gave serious consideration today to calling in to everywhere I was supposed to be and just not being there. Instead, I contented myself with grabbing a couple of extra z's, after which I was much more inclined to greet the world. This is my "on call" week, so, while I had allocated a whole 12 hours last night to rest (combined sleep, reading and overall immobility), the best laid plans came crashing down, with two calls perfectly spaced to ensure that I was never able to fully get into the groove of resting. One of them from one of our more difficult customers. And this on the heel of the night before, when I had three calls similarly spaced and wound up with a grand total of two hours' sleep (I had had a nap before and the plan was to get five hours before last night's sleepfest).
Tonight I may be able to put in a good night's sleep, and I'm hoping the 3 am calls don't continue. I like the extra money for the on calls, but after a certain point, what I'm actually benefitting from them drops dramatically.
The biggest problem I have is in combatting stress. I have a full calendar, and have found that it gets worse when people increase their demands on me as they so often do. Basically I work one full time job and one part time job (work study for the college) as well as covering a full load of courses for college. When you pile on things like the recently finished Guthrie tribute, it leaves me with very little free time. And because I live 15 miles outside of town, running back and forth to the house isn't an option, at least not a viable one.
Because of the insane change of schedules brought about for this fall semester, I have to have night classes. Because most (3 of 5) of my work shifts are evening shifts, this means that there's not a single day that I don't have either work or school to go to. I've helped the balance a little by adjusting my starting time for work study from 8 am to 9 am (our new dean is much better about getting things set up and not depending on having a techie there to do it), but still that means a 7am wakeup. There's not a day that I am up later than 9am, and there are only two days where I'm home before 10pm.
Stress is something I need to pay attention to. It was the key factor in my leaving one of the better jobs I ever had, that of managing group homes for the developmentally disabled. I was working too many hours, for too long a time and eventually grew to resent the job, which made me less of a capable caregiver. I left probably 6 months to a year after I should have, as we're often the last to see the effects of stress in our lives.
Over the last several months, I've noticed myself suffering from increased physical symptoms when I am highly stressed or exhausted, which has provided incentive for me to slow down. I have learned that the more stressed you are, the less efficient of a worker you are, so there's incentive in that as well.
I've passed the year mark at this job, so I should have some vacation hours on the shelf. I plan to burn a couple days once spring enrollment begins at the university where I will complete my bachelor's. I need them.