Early Days (or 2 Weeks Of Long Shifts)

For the past 2 weeks, I’ve been working 2 hours earlier than usual at my new box office job. And I’m still finishing at my usual time so I’m working 8 extra hours a week.

I agreed to this because one of my co-workers has been shooting a movie and he wasn’t able to work. So I agree to help cover his shifts.

Having this happen so early in my time with this new job really has been good. It reassured me that if/when I need to take some time off for booked work it can be done without having to be laid off. And I’ve proven myself to be a reliable employee by agreeing to start early.

It hasn’t been easy working longer hours sitting at my computer. I’m trying to get up every so often and just walk around my living room. I can’t go too far in case the phone rings or a chat comes up, but I need the time to stretch.

It also was tough making sure that I could get all my morning stuff done before I started working. Even when I was working as a recruiting assistant from home, I always was dressed and out of my pjs when I worked. I’m doing the same thing now. Every morning, instead of waking up and making breakfast in my pjs before getting ready to start working, I’m now not leaving my room until I’m ready to work. I make my bed and get dressed (even though it’s usually just yoga pants and a tank top) before walking into the rest of my house and starting my morning.

I’ve never really done that before and it does seem to make a difference in my day. Instead of easing into my day, I feel more urgency to get work done in the morning. I’m supposed to go back to my usual start time next week, but I think I am going to continue this new routine of not leaving my room until I’m fully ready for my day.

While the extra money has been really nice, I am looking forward to getting back to my normal schedule. There are some things in the morning that I like to get done before work (like checking email and catching up on the news) that lately I’ve had to do either between calls (there is a decent amount of downtime) or at 3pm when I’m done working.

And while the search for another day job continues, I’m starting to get more referrals to jobs, which makes me happy. I got this box office job off of a referral and I always feel more confident getting work that way. I’ve got 2 referrals for jobs right now (one as a virtual assistant and one as a personal organizer) and I’m just waiting to see if anything comes of either (or both!) of those.

I know that I’ve gone through the adjustment phase of a new job several times by now, but I really do like once I’m settled into a routine and I can pretty much schedule out how everything in my day will go. It’s nice that I’ve gotten to that place again.

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Double Time (or 2 Days Of Split Shifts) Missing Out To Make Money (or Realizing When I’m Over-scheduled) Getting Too Comfortable (or Getting Ready To Quit) New Routine Time (or Time Management At Home) Productive One Way And Slacking In Another (or Working On Finding Time) Making Busy Days Busier (or I Guess I Like To Maximize Only Certain Days)