Tonight I will do the first night-shift I have done in over a decade. Sure there have been times when I have been up throughout the night for various reasons, but it has been a long time since I actually worked all night. Especially whilst doing a completely new role too.
The past couple of shifts have varied in time and duration, Tuesday was a 12 hour shift during the day, Wednesday was an eight hour shift finishing much earlier in the afternoon. All the while my body is starting to adjust to it all. Having just come off the back of three weeks of 8 til 4 Mon to Fri, it is once again another shift. With tonights night shift being a total jolt to the circadian rhythm. But that is OK, I am ready for it, and looking forward to it too.
In the last six months I have gone from working from 12 til 5pm, (five hour day) to not working at all for a few months, to Mon to Fri full days, to the rolling shift patterns I am on now.
The current pattern consists of 3 working days, a 12 hour day shift, an 8 hour day shift and a 12 hour night shift, then three rest days (inc the day I finish on). I will be on this pattern for a couple of weeks, before returning to my Mon to Fri pattern til the end of training, hopefully by the end of October.
As far as I know I will be doing the same role I was on Tuesday, just on a night shift tonight, but am aware the dynamic will change somewhat. The pattern in which we work will also change to allow for the differences in how a night unfolds in the role. Hopefully there will be an extended rest period available if all is going well. If not, then it will be a long night. Either way I am sure I will get by just fine, and won't have too many issues.
Long term, after the end of training and as my probation begins on a "normal"working pattern, the rolling shifts of 3 on 3 off that is, I am sure I will be able to fine tune my routine to allow me to make the most of my days off, while ensuring I am well rested for the next rotation. But for now, I just have to muddle through it all, just like the rest of the group I am training with will.
I of course have the bonus of having my adopted grandson on shift rotations with me, so I am sure one way or another there will be some entertainment provided by him and the rest of the group I am with.
As a note for myself, the first 12 hr day shift left a small but adequate rest period before being in for the next day shift. Poor planning by me led to less rest than I had hoped for, so felt tired for my second day. I had a late night last night to try and get a couple of extra hours of sleep this morning, which seems to have worked. I actually managed to sleep beyond 5.15am today! I am hoping to have a couple of short naps this afternoon, before heading to work a little later than I have on day shifts.
I have made a habit of being at work 90-120 mins before day shifts to allow me to wake up and have a run or gym session, but no need for that for tonight, so I will get in a bit before the start today and settle in.
Right, I have some chores to do, then a nap to catch, so I better be getting on.