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Is it difficult to adjust to the graveyard shift?

Posted By: Texas Girl on 2008-07-15
In Reply to:

  What is the best way to prepar for this. 




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GRAVEYARD SHIFT

I totally disagree with this study, for multiple reasons.  I agree with some of the posts, stating that it would depend upon if you are getting enough sleep, whether you work the graveyard shift or not.  People working regular shift often get only a couple of hours of sleep, because they are out at bars all night, drinking, etc.


However, I work the graveyard shift, usually 11 pm to 6 am.  I am working, while my husband is sleeping.  Right after work, I go to bed, and sleep anywhere between 10 to 12 hours.  Then, when my husband comes home, we have the whole evening together!


Also, do they take into consideration that many graveyard shift workers work in factory situations where they are exposed to lots of other things, like toxic chemicals, etc.?  I read about it in the paper, too, and it mentioned that the increase in the cancer effect of the graveyard shift workers began in the 1930's, with the "industrial" boom --- what about those effects on cancer, not the time of day you do it.


I also feel that I can produce more in the same time frame doing MT at nite, with less stress of all the other noises of the day, and not having the phone ringing off the hook!


 


Graveyard Shift

It all depends on you.  I don't think there's a set rule book.  I have a major sleep "situation."  It isn't a problem because it's been this way all my life.  I never liked to sleep, and would still rather mow the lawn or just about anything besides sleep. Obviously the rest of the world thinks that's strange, but it's just how I got wired (pardon that pun!)...  Many people say they got "x" hours of sleep.  I look at it as whatever I got is what I got, if any.  But I know that's not the norm for most.


There have been times when I've fallen asleep typing, but very rarely.  There are also times when I stay up for 2 days straight, and still fight going to sleep.


Just give it some time and decide if you can do it.  It's good that we all have different time clocks embedded in our bodies!


Good luck!


graveyard shift
I've found that my body just naturally adjusts over time if I work this shift consistently.
graveyard shift questions? HELP!! sm
for those of you who work the graveyard shift, when you initially started how did you get your sleep pattern to adjust?  i did this for 2 nights and loved it!!  i got sooo much work done without any interruptions and it was wonderful so i have decided that i would prefer to work at nighttime but i am having a hard time staying awake now through the night and by 1ish i am falling asleep.  how did you get ahead on your sleep well enough to get you past the initial getting used to it?  and do you keep that same schedule even on weekends or when you aren't working as far as sleep routine? 
questions for graveyard shift'ers
i'm seriously thinking of going from days to 3rd shift -- for money and to free-up daytime hours to manage other stuff better, without interfering with my job....but cannot figure when the best time would be to sleep -- do you sleep right after work, right before work, or when?  How long might it take to adjust?  I'm generally a morning person, early to bed, early to rise....I'd appreciate any advice at all. thanks.
Graveyard shift study results
I just had to put this here.  This study came out about 2 days ago, and I did not find that anyone posted it here so I am going to comment on it.  If this is redundant please excuse the double post.  The other day on the news at 6 they reported that studies show that there is a new risk for developing cancer which could lead to an early grave... working the graveyard shift (punny).  Anyway, they said that because it goes against our biological clock, we produce less of a certain brain chemical when we sleep at night and this chemical helps our body fend of carcinogens (I forgot the chemical).  Do you know the American Cancer Society is seriously considering putting third shift workers on the list as being high risk for cancer?  Can you imagine?  What is this, a way for the insurance companies to have an excuse to deny us night owls insurance or to make the rates higher? I think it is hilarious because I personally never do anything risky.  I work at home as an MT after all, I do not lead a risky life in the least. Now, because I work nights so I can be a mom during the day and do everything supermom should do I am going to have cancer... what next?
How do you adjust to a 3rd shift job? nm
nm
Need input from all you "night owls" working graveyard shift!
I am considering working nights, since it seems that's where the pay is higher.  Do you go to bed in morning after your shift ends, or do you stay awake for a couple of hours, and go to bed, say 10  or 11 am.   How many hours during the day do you sleep; or do you just take a nap in the morning, and go to bed around 6 or 7 p.m.  and sleep until it's time for your shift to start?   Input on getting a balance, and staying awake during shift.  I worked that shift for a while in the past, but never could balance it out.  It seems I was always sleeping and had no time to do anything else, other than sleep and work.    Thanks
Graveyard cake
http://www.celebrationcorner.com/RecipeDetail.aspx?id=133724
Working graveyard
Most people don't know how I do it. I work from 9:00 p.m. to about 4:00 and then up at 7:30 (8:30 now that it's summer). On Friday nights I don't work and I'm in bed by 8:00 p.m. And on the weekends I sleep in. My family is used to it and I've been doing it for so long I actually prefer it. No phones, no kids, no husband. I have also been known to fall asleep in the chair, but it doesn't happen too often. You'll get used to it. I'm not actually sure I even prepared in any way.
More graveyard experiences

I've worked graveyard before and will be starting again tonight.  I've learned a few things from past experience that can help this time. 


One is bright lights at night and blackout curtains during daytime sleeping hours.  Another is turning off the ringer on the phone before going to bed, arranging with a neighbor who is generally home during the day to take true emergency calls from certain people and ring my doorbell if necessary. 


I try to keep in mind that a lot of other people aren't readily available during the day or able to do what they like during the day because of work, either in or out of the home.  I also remember how lucky I am to be able to work from home and not have to deal with a commute, among other things.


Give myself some unwinding time after my shift and then do the best I can to adhere to regular sleep hours that least interfere with regular activities outside of work.  There will be times, of course, when I'll need to be flexible on the sleep hours to take care of things that must occasionally be done during the usual sleep hours schedule.


Accept that there will be days when the rest of the world will not be tip-toeing around because I want to sleep.  Watch out for sleep-deprivation crankiness, try my best not to take it out on other folks, and apologize promptly if I do.  It does help to explain the situation yet not use it as a recurrent or frequent excuse.


Make use of caffeinated beverages at the beginning of my shift and limit them toward the latter portion.  Remember that power naps during breaks may work for other people but that the temptation to keep hitting the snooze alarm could be overwhelming for me.  It was one thing when I was an IC, but not cool as an employee.  Better for me is to something semi-active during breaks and make myself get up and stretch on a periodic, regular basis.


Keep in mind that it will take a little while to get used to the new schedule and see what sleep hours seem to work best for me through trial and error.  I'm lucky that I have a natural tendency toward nightowlism. 


Sorry for the length of this essay and best of luck to you!  Would that there were a yawning smiley face...


 


 


I worked graveyard before, and will now again.
This time though, I have a window of time, and can split shift, but I can tell you I am very scared about it. The last time I took graveyard, it was set hours, and I got through it, but switched back to days because I never slept, or took time for myself. But, there is not much work during the mornings, and I end up getting frustrated watching the children who are all under 10 years old, and scratching for work, and the whole situation. So, I am going to work 8 hours in 12 overnight. I am very scared but going to go for it for these reasons: 1. I am not lonely because everyone is at home but they are sleeping, so very few if any worries about anything other than working which is really less stress. 2. There will mostly always be work, so I won't have to worry about my paycheck or begging for work or worrying about the bill collectors. 3. DH is concerned too, but he knows how frustrating it is to scratch for work during the daytime when everyone else is on. He figures I work after I put the kids to bed, rest some, and then work in early morning hours. Then, I get another nap during the day when he gets home from work or during the school day when the kids are back in school. It is just this fear of mine about overnight I have to learn to get out of my head and remember, night means peaceful, quiet, work, a good paycheck, and naps during the day along with trips to the mall, or doing art or anything else during the day when the kids are back in school I can do just for me. I wish you luck. In the end do what is best for you. But if you run out of work during the day, or if you have other obligations while you are working in daytime, rethink which is really best for you. Good luck!
Kitchen appliance graveyard

In the midst of moving last weekend, I discovered my long forgotten kitchen appliance graveyard.  All the cool gadgets that I thought I HAD to have at the time that have long since moved into that cabinet.  I had three juicers dating back to the 80's, an ice cream maker, a sandwich maker, a George Foreman grill, a food dehydrator, and a the most recent one I got for Christmas, a smoothie maker.  Oh the humanity!  I have decided to resurrect some of them for fun and because I feel so guilty.  How about you all ?  Anyone suffer from this gadget collecting problem? 


I work graveyard on weekends
I can't say there's any real way to prepare for graveyard shift other than going to bed earlier the night before, this way you are well rested for your shift.

I work day shift and evening shift Mon-Thurs, but come 3 pm on Friday, it's bedtime for me. I work graveyard shift on weekends, and I love it. I don't really have a problem adjusting my schedule, as I have massive sleep deficit accrued all week.
The problems that I do find are with:
Family not getting it through their heads that I wake/work early on weekends.
Deliveries (UPS, FedEx) normally take place during the hours I would be sleeping.
Phone usually rings during the hours I sleep.

Other than those outside factors, no problem for me adjusting back and forth between shifts.


My experiences while working graveyard were (sm)
both good and bad: Bad: During the spring/summer months, I wanted to be out catching the rays and walking the beach, but my body kept telling me, "It's time to sleep." Additionally, my diet was a little off; eating a Stouffer's dinner at 3:00 a.m. just seemed out of order. Also, I started watching those Judge shows in the afternoons, thus, not putting the lights out until about 5 p.m., leaving me only about 5 hours to sleep -- not enough for this bod. That experience taught me that I am definitely a morning person.
If you want the good stuff, work GRAVEYARD, or
nm
took me a while to adjust. sm

It took me a while to get situated and then along came the summer months and my schedule got totally out of whack.  No school and the kids are home, etc., etc.


I have 2 accounts, one local and one national.  Unfortunately the national requires a 3 hour per day schedule (5 day week with one day a weekend), which really stinks, but what can you do?  My local only wants 24 hour turnaround and it's up to me when I do it, as long as it is back within 24 hours.


What I did was change my national hours to earlier morning, due to no preparation for school, and then I can get it done in case I want to go do something with the kids (they're older and are still getting the "winkies" out of their eyes at 10:00 a.m. when I finish).  If it's a really great day and I want to go sit by the pool and just relax and play, my local stuff waits until after dinner.  The kids understand the summer "trade off" and when cold weather and school starts again, I'll just work all day while they are in school and finish up affter they go to bed.


This is my very first summer doing this at home full time.  I got really, really lazy at first but finally just had to kick myself in the behind when the bills started getting behind.


Just passing thru tonight, but my kids are gone for a couple of hours with some friends, so I need to go kick behind and get caught up.


 


Can't adjust
Don't feel bad! I also worked for a small company and spent half my time looking up addresses for doctors I never heard of through their HUGE document they gave me to look at! I had typed orthopedics for years and could do this in my sleep. Like you, I spent three-fourths of my time looking up names only to type a few lines here a there. One four day period, I ended up making $79.20! Now that's what I call getting rich!!! I worked for a private company, salaried employee, for years, retired and wanted to do work again on a part-time basis. Most of it is a joke. Think I'll go to Joann Fabrics and work or even Burger King! Hey, they even give you benefits!!! Like you, I got totally frustrated with the whole process. No wonder companies like to pay 8 cents or so a line; they know they won't have to pay out much for little reports. Good Luck!
It should adjust itself sm
but you can adjust screen setting size by right clicking on your desk top, go down to properties, and then over to settings.  There is an option for screen resolution size that can make the appearance of the screen larger, smaller, etc.  Typically for the larger screens you want the higher resolutions.  You'll love having a bigger monitor.
Disagree...ESLs tend to dictate graveyard shifts....nm

Sure, I even welcome it. They can adjust certain things sm
to your liking (say, the placement of your working page on your desktop, etc.) 
Old MT can't adjust to National sm
I am so very aggravated.  I started with a medium sized national about a month ago....and today I counted my lines.   I made $30 for 7 days of aggravation and a big headache.   How am I supposed to make any money when I get a bunch of choppy little reports, followed by a letter - have to spent 15 minutes or so searching through a big database for what sounds like what doc is saying for a name.  Then each file gets saved individually, followed by the number of the voice file, and the doctors name.   If I have any questions, I must notify QA and see if they can help figure out the problem, but must put # and place in sound file in email, wait for a response, then fill in the blank.   Needless to say, I've had it.....I am a good transcriptionist, but I can't get ahead this way, spending all my time on searching up addresses...and other than a few piddly reports, the rest is letters!  Yuk....what would you do????   Thank you......
They'll be able to adjust the 20 to fit him and
he'll grow without growing out of it too quickly. It's your best bet.
time to adjust
I'd give yourself some time to adjust before jumping back to the other position. Everyone hates starting a new job with new software and it's normal to wish you were back on a system that you were comfortable with. You probably didn't make your decision lightly, so I'd give it some time first.
Yes I'm tired, but you adjust. I have

very little me time, but I was never a big me time person.  I truly enjoy spending time with my family.  I graduated one this year and I've got 4 more years left and then I'll have all the me time I want. 


My DH is an ex-math teacher so he handles math.  He usually does the grocery shopping and running errands.  My house is in a constant state of chaos and my flower beds are full of weeds.


This year is the first time I've had to work a strict schedule.  In the past I still tried to work a split shift, but had flexibility so I could do the field trips, the classes, etc.   My remaining child is a teen and does a lot of work on his own and he isn't into the field trips and other stuff now, so it is a bit easier in that respect, but we are also having to be more regimented in his studies because we have to be thinking about college.


You can Google your state or city and home educators to find support.  For the life of me I can't think of the national organization.  We're not very active in the homeschool community now because we prefer to do our own thing, but we have a weekly activity day.  It is usually bowling or rollerskating.  The kids are able to do their thing and the parents (usually moms) are able to socialize.  We have a gym day once a week.  It usually isn't structured, but gets the kids active.  We also have enrichment classes.  If foreign language or calculus isn't your thing your child can take enrichment classes.  We have a basketball team, a band.  We have proms and balls.   Places like the Y or the rock climbing place that don't get much business during the day have special rates/times for the homeschoolers.  There is a field trip at least once a month.  We have the science fairs, spelling bees, etc.  We have graduation ceremonies.  There are once a month support group meetings.  People who don't know anything about homeschooling always comment about lack of socialization, but as you can see from the above there is no lack of socialization.  Plus your child can participate in community sports, scouts, church group, plus have neighborhood friends, so we don't really keep our kids isolated.   We also have a year state convention/book fair.  We don't get any government funding or tax credits (though some states will provide the same textbooks that they use in public school), but we usually get teacher discounts.


Feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions. 


can't you adjust that yourself? call tech.
don't tamper with it for all of us.
Adjust sound card sm
You need to go to control panel, select sounds and devices, then select the audio tab, then the advanced tab, and finally the speakers tab. Change setting under "speaker setup" to stereo headphones, then you should hear in both ears with your headphones.
Do you have a chair that you can adjust the height? nm
.
You can adjust the foot pedal so that it does
rewind and you can adjust how much it rewinds.  It takes some playing with to get it where you want it though. 
I agree...the baby will adjust...
I started working from home when my son was in 1st grade and had another baby when he was in 2nd grade...My daughter is 21 months old and she is really good about playing by herself...she will watch Dora/Blues Clues/Diego, et cetera ...all those fun kid shows for about an hour in the morning and then she takes a nap, while I finish the majority of my work...then when she wakes up it is lunch time/play time and then around 2:00 she will watch another show for an hour and then my son comes home from school...some days are harder than others but like I said, when the kids know you work from home right from the get go, they don't know anything different so they adjust and like being home with their mommy...good luck!!!
Adjust speed on Cphone
Does anyone know what to do to adjust the speed on the CPhone?
Your cats WILL adjust in time. Keep them inside!
It is not rocket science. Buy cat trees and toys for them. Keep them amused. I have done it, as have many other people. It is for their own safety. Good luck to you.
Alt-P-M, but you can't adjust margins without a section break.
Not sure what you are trying to do.
I figured it out----yes you can adjust the speed and here's how to do it. Hope this helps someone

There are a couple of ways to adjust playback speed.

1. Right-click on the Windows Media Player 10 title bar, choosing "Play" - "Play Speed" and selecting "Fast", "Normal", or "Slow".

Or, for more intricate adjustments:

1. Click the "Now Playing" tab.

2. Right-click on the Windows Media Player 10 title bar, choosing "View" - "Enhancements" - "Play Speed Settings".

3. A panel should appear at the bottom of the "Now Playing" tab.

- Click "Slow", "Normal", or "Fast" for basic play speed settings.

- Move the slider to the left to slow the playback; moving the slider to the right speeds up playback. For reference:

"Slow" speed is 0.5
"Normal" speed is 1.0
"Fast" speed is 1.4

If you're having trouble moving the slider, uncheck "Snap slider to common speeds" to allow speed changes across the slider bar. Note that some files may not correctly play at speeds less than 0.5.


Need Word 2007 shortcut to adjust margins, as I can't see the ribbon. Thanks! nm
x
I agree with Misty, after doing rescue work with cats for over 20 years, they do adjust and become v
x
Does anyone know how to adjust the speed of a Windows Media Player for testing purposes? nm Thanks
x
You cannot adjust the speed in Win Media Player. Download Express Scribe free NM
?
I use Gold Touch tented up. LOVE it!!! Adjust seat to right height and hands stay in
:+
hit left Shift key 3 times, then right Shift key 3 times -
nm
For me, it 's more difficult after 2 p.m.
doesn't matter what it is. But that's only because I've been doing it since 4:30.
It can be difficult...
to know the right thing to do. So many companies are unfair to their MT's, but is it right to dish it right back to them?

I would say it depends on how they treat you. If they are great to work for then be fair to them. If they are awful to work for then, well, use your best judgment.

If you do lower your rate just be sure that they understand this is your rate for THIS account of mostly macros. If they want you to do an account with straight typing they need to readjust.

Good for you for having high values in an industry that is getting more and more amoral every day :-)
Not difficult for you maybe
But obviously she wouldn't have posted if she didn't have feelings of uncertainty about it. I know when I have had to make a decision about something being right or wrong I find it difficult. You have a clear opinion on this, she didn't. I was just trying to be supportive. I WAS NOT making a blanket statement that it is difficult to treat a bad company badly, or playing the SAME GAME that your company is playing. Geez!!!!
Not only is it the most difficult sm
it is also extremely depressing, or at least it was for me.  I used to work for M. D. Anderson years ago and did a lot of Peds.  Also, the protocols change faster than you can keep up with them so expect to spend a lot of time searching but internet would probably make it easier.  Good luck and I hope you like it...somebody has to do it but not this body anymore.
How difficult is it to set up?sm
Also, what equipment do I need? I have a Linksys wireless broadband router.
Yes but difficult! nm
x
I was LPN 30 yrs ago. It is more difficult now. SM
I would encourage you taking the course, but then try working in a doctor's office, clinic or private duty. Most definitely, not in a hospital.

I remember loving the course, but hating it when I got out into the real world.
So difficult
It is very difficult for me too sometimes. So many tragedies.

It seems life is often so tough. My views and understanding of where and why we came from have been changing over the last few years, and I am having a very rough time trying to make some sense of it.
It's healthy to enjoy some alone time. You'll adjust and enjoy it soon.
x
I don't know if any particular field is more difficult
than the next, if all you do is type one speciality. I think ER and Psych are mentally hard because with ER a lot of the patients die and it is depressing and then psych is depressing because of the severe dysfunction of the patients and/or their families. Oncology can be depressing too cause outcomes are not always great and like the previous poster said frequent new meds.

I used to transcribe for a teaching hospital connected to a medical school and that dictation was very hard, much more technical than your normal hospital, lots more dictators too and a new crop every July.
It's difficult but necessary to be in control
Otherwise you are simply allowing little Hitlers to grow up and become *adults* - your job is not to be their friend, your job is to be their parent.

Why would you allow your kids to have friends that you wouldn't allow in your house if they were your friends?

Why would you allow filthy language, out-of-control behavior, and downright liars even on your property?

Are you afraid of your kids? if so, why?

Good luck