Ways to Feed Your Social Life Needs While Working Night Shifts
Working the night shift can make you feel like you’re out of sync with life. You may feel left out of daily activities. You may feel increasingly tired and irritable. If you can’t adjust to the sleep schedule, serving as a night nurse could wreck your life or at least make it very uncomfortable. So how is it that so many nurses manage to keep their life together and work as a night owl?
Here are some tips for managing your social life in addition to working the night shift.
Organizing Around Children’s Activities
If you work the night shift you must get a handle on your children’s schedules. We know you spend a lot of time driving children to and from their various sporting and school activities. Make sure you create a calendar or visual schedule that will help you stay organized. It will also keep your children on track. Build-in breaks and quiet time right after school so you have time to talk to them. If you’re at work, conduct a video chat during your breaks. Are you able to drive them to school or wait with them by the bus stop in the early morning hours? Could you make them their lunch and write a nice note to send them off to school before you go to sleep?
It’s these small rituals that will help you stay connected to your family when you’re working late hours.
Try to make family plans ahead of time by picking a few dates. Stick to those dates and have fun when you’re tired. If you’re having difficulties seeing your friends, schedule a date in advance and stick to it.
Organize Around Your Partner
Openly communicate with your partner and schedule in some quiet time. Just talking for a few moments at bedtime when no electronic devices are turned on could be helpful.
Make sure you schedule a few moments to yourself as soon as you get home to decompress. Giving yourself time to wind down right after a shift is like pushing the reset of the computer.
Get Your Days Together
Usually, you can have several nights off in a row, so make good use of these dates by getting out with your family, friends, and loved ones.
Bond with Your Coworkers
Having a friend at work will make the night seem less long. Make these relationships important by building friendships that matter.
The night shift doesn’t have to be a radical departure from working during the daytime. The truth is that working the night shift can be like any other job. Your life can go on, you can still run errands or spend time with the family. The truth is in the organization, really, so if you can map out a methodical schedule you could see your loved ones and your friends.
The Custom Group of Companies knows what it’s like to keep your life running smoothly when you’re a nurse on nights. Talk with us when it’s time for a job or schedule change – we can help.
