Graveyard Shift: How do I feel?

I think I have this side of doing things I said I would find hard doing. Since few years back, I would tell my friends that I cannot work on a night shift. That\’s why, I really look up the BPO employees who can do it like it\’s a regular shift.

But maybe the universe wanted to let me try it and know how does it feel. Lately this year, as I\’m working from home for a year or so already, I came to realize that I wanted to do remote work.

Though I am already on a work from home setup but since it\’s location specific, I cannot just work from anywhere. Yes, I want to be part of the digital nomad community.

Fortunately, I was able to find a job that would let me do it. Though we had an office here in the Philippines but since pandemic started, everyone was working anywhere.

This was also the reason why I was able to go home and work in the island. And I\’ve been doing this for a month already.

How do I feel?

The first week has been a struggle. Really! Adjusting my body clock to wake up at night time and sleep at day time. I would always find myself so sleepy and fighting so hard not to fall asleep during my shift.

What makes it harder is that I don\’t drink coffee. So I cannot have it and feel awake. So I\’m fighting it just by eating anything. I would sometimes go down in the kitchen and cook fried egg at past 12MN.

Another difficulty I came across with was sleeping during the day time when everyone\’s already awake. Good thing that I\’m a heavy sleeper. Noise or even hot temperature won\’t bother me. But there were times you can\’t avoid waking up after an hour or two of sleeping.

Fast forward to the present… I still feel sleepy at around 4AM onwards. So I would just do something that could entertain myself. Like watching some dramas. But if I can\’t really help it, I would take a short break and sleep. Just a power nap.

Another good thing is that my shift is permanently on a night shift. So I don\’t have to keep on adjusting and changing my body clock.

I\’m slowly adjusting to this new schedule. And my family too. They would not bother me during the day time because they know that I just feel asleep. Sometimes, they would wake me up at lunch time so that I can eat. Then, I will just go back sleeping after that.

Oh, why did I accept this shift?

I was desperate for a change. That\’s the first reason. That I left my stable and day time job. I risk of taking a new job without knowing what it will do me or how far will I go.

Another is that since I wanted to be a digital nomad, I need a job that would allow me to travel. Not just that I can work from anywhere but also, I can work and enjoy the trip. With a night shift job, I can explore during day time and work at night time.

So far, so good. And I\’m happy also that my best friends are on the same shift. So when we got bored in the middle and we don\’t have much load, we can chitchat. Haha

After 1 month of working this graveyard shift, I would say it\’s not bad. You just need pretty little adjustments to do, more food to eat, and vitamins to keep your body healthy. And yes! Much rest and sleep too. Plus the bonus, you\’ll get to see the sunrise everyday.

So if you\’re wondering if you can do it or not, try it. It\’s worth the risk, a lesson to learn and an experience to take. 😉