I had a 9-5 job last year as a receptionist where I had a TON of down time, so it was totally fine for me to do my personal projects during those slow times, which was great. I've recently taken a better paying/more intense job where personal projects aren't an option, which sounds like it's closer to what you're experiencing, Steve. And yeah, work now wipes me out. My solution is to take it easy on weeknights and indulge in any laziness EXCEPT that I force myself to go to bed early, so I don't feel the urge to sleep in on Sat/Sun. This means I have tons of energy on the weekends for doing chores/errands in the morning and then grind away at personal projects in the afternoon/evenings.
Gosh, yeah, having a "typical office job" is SO exhausting. I've noticed it affecting my sleep - I sleep so much more now (like, 8-10 hours) because sitting at a desk is inexplicably draining. I try to plan something for myself to do in the evenings (e.g. taking a walk, playing tennis) so that I have something to look forward to, and also so that I don't just end up sitting around reading/watching Netflix for my entire evening. :/
I am teaching middle school right now, and my work days typically start at 7am, and end anywhere from 4-7, depending on how much grading, organizing, and prep I have to do. But I'm trying to make time for creative endeavors, too (at the moment, writing). It is REALLY hard to get up the energy to do it after a day of teaching. One thing that has helped is having a writing buddy. She and I email each other once a week with our goals for what we want to accomplish that week. It helps us hold ourselves accountable, and is a great source of feedback and support!
Yup, I've got that 8-to-5 workday going. Much of the "afterhours" during my first few months were spent watching TV or playing videos. I would go to sleep at 10:30pm so I could wake up at 6:30am. But then I found a side job of sorts, working as a conductor for a community orchestra. So those rehearsals and the prep work took up time, but it was a fun way to be busy and have a creative outlet.
musicismylove92 Just had another thought. It's like in high school (or even college) when you have SO MUCH going on with classes and activities and homework, but somehow we were able to do it all and more. When you're at an appropriate level of busy, you push yourself to make time for things and do it all. You just can't go overboard
I'm currently working a 8-5 M-F desk job (mostly answering calls), and I'm in law school with classes 4 nights a week till about 9:30-10ish. I don't remember the last time that I wasn't exhausted, but it's definitely put the value of what little off-time I have into perspective. I chose the job I'm at because they let me work on school stuff during my down time, which is extremely helpful. I also like to do little things to remind myself of why I'm working so hard, like speaking with people who do different variations of my "dream job".
I work 7-4 and straight out of college it felt like I had all the free time in the world and then it slowly became normal and now I want more free time. I'm definitely doing less work than when I was in college which is very nice.
I just started my first 8-5 job a couple months ago and I'm still trying to get the rest of my life on some sort of a schedule. Like my house cleaning is falling behind because once I get home I don't really want to do anything because I'm completely drained of motivation. I think it's about MAKING yourself do SOMETHING after work. Like clean something or try a new recipe or take up a new hobby. That's kind of been working but I think it's all just a matter of figuring out what works for you.
Oh my god I totally agree, it's crazy how draining I find my 8:30 to 4:30 job. And you're right, it's not as if the job is particularly taxing in and of itself. One thing I find that works for me is setting aside a couple days a week where I don't go home until 7 or so (today was that day for me, I just went over to my sister's and we hung out and had dinner). If I go straight home I will just crash and after that happens there is no way anything else will, but not going home and going to do something straight after work is something I found helpful for my sanity
I work 6am-2pm, so I have a few more middle of the day hours, but all I ever want to do after working a busy fast food coffee shift is sleep. And it's still light out, and there's, like errands to run, and I never accomplish what I say I'm going to.
Man I really feel this as well. I mean, I don't even work 9-5, I'm interning as an orchestra musician (orchestra academy is what it's called I guess), and just those 4hrs of rehearsal for 4-5 days through the week plus the concert, they drain my so much, mentally especially. I think it's a matter of how much you enjoy what you do... If it's just a thing you do for money and you aren't in it with your heart, it'll always sap loads of energy. Anyway, I'm glad you'll be done with that job soon - I'm sure doing your Master degree will be a lot more fulfilling.
I don't have a 9-5 job, but I work 4 jobs. Which, obviously eats up a significant part of my time and energy as it is, in addition to being autistic and working towards completing two bachelor degrees. While I try to do a little bit of creative work each day, I'm often just so exhausted. I try to keep my creativity flowing my consuming other peoples work - I love reading fanfiction and listening to creative podcasts and such. Even if I am not updating my own fanfiction (its been 6 months and I feel horrible), at the very least I'm keeping the ideas flowing and not letting that part of my brain that loves to create just stop. I think sometimes the most important thing to do is to just keep doing little things. I scribble down a 500 word fic, or flesh out an original character during my lunch break. I may not be completing my bigger words anytime soon, but it helps to keep me motivated and moving forward.
I'm working 8-5 doing data analysis in a corporate setting. Lot of fun aspects and it pays well, but I definitely do feel drained when I get home (probably in part to my commute which lasts 3 hours a day). I think without such a huge commute I would be able to do more than just sit around and watch TV afterwards. Was nice hearing your thoughts on the subject!
Working 9-5 frickin sucks. It's turning me washed out and bitter honestly! I enjoyed my job for the first while, but being a little over a year into it, it's becoming such a drag. I find myself annoyed that I have to be there, doing MAYBE 3 hours of productive stuff and then 5 hours of filler. The thing is, where I work, there's an overwhelming sense that NO ONE wants to be there, so it's a huge downer basically. Luckily my contract runs out 8 months...
I'm a computer programmer, and my hours are flexible. I enjoy solving problems, and I often have new and different problems to solve. That is what keeps things interesting for me. I am also often learning new things like programming languages, APIs, and algorithms. Learning is fun. :)
I am not in a full time position right now (YAY UNI) but I normally work 40 hour weeks during the summer as an optical assistant + did it during my gap year - oh the glorious benefits of having a trade skill that's pretty much always in demand - and I definitely remember how exhausted it made me, but honestly, I really like having structure to my days, and I normally find myself incredibly motivated to do extra things around my full day. The only limit is transportation and if someone's cooking me dinner!
I know a lot of authors who say when they had full time jobs, if they wanted to write during that day they had no choice but to do it by getting up at five in the morning because if they left it till the end of the day they would have zero creative energy left at all. I occasionally write and do stuff that would seem recognisably like work, and after an hour I start to die and I don't know how on earth anybody can actually do that for eight hours a day. it seems terrible.
I wish my job was as predictable as 9-5, or 7-4 or whatever, but it's basically 7 (sometimes earlier) to whenever I get done. Sometimes that's early, but sometimes it's really not. Like when I go to basically the border of South Dakota and back, that takes a while.
I work 8-6 most days and have yet to figure out how to function outside of work. My current evening and weekend time is spent eating, sleeping and watching tv so please pass on any advise on how to achieve a functioning lifestyle.
That sounds awful! Not wanting to wake up, not being able to go to sleep? Work should never do that to you Steve! I remember at my first internship I went 12-4 but I always stayed half an hour late and during holidays I would volunteer to work full time, even when it was 99% empty. I loved that job. It's how all jobs should be, I think.Also, dyejob?
I wish that the 8 hour work day wasn't a standard, because it really is far longer than it needs to be for most jobs. I think that people would be much better off if work days were shortened. That way you get everything done in the time that the job needs and then you're done and you can do something else. I work in the performing arts and our hours are a bit different. They're structured to actually be the hours you need to be working. So if you need to do 10+ hours in a day you do, and if you only need to do 3 hours then that's what you do. It can be really demanding, but I find it more worthwhile for me than working a 9-5 in a retail store.
woo 8 to 5 jobs at university offices... i was a part time (~10hr/week, $9-something/hour) student assistant at my school's registrar's office for two years. When I graduated they offered me a full time temp staff position (let's just say staff pay is way better. like practically a livable wage??? whoa) so i've been doing that for the past couple weeks. some days are more draining than others, like the days where i keep finding things i don't have access to that should have been fixed 3 weeks ago -_- or when i run out of stuff to do and just get board. but the 15 minute breaks in the morning and afternoon plus lunch help me get through the day. i feel it when i get home though. i'm not sleepy tired exactly, it's just i don't want to do anything. this is one of the messiest states i've ever let my room get to, comparable to finals week hell. i've never cooked much but i do so even less now. (especially right now because i need to go grocery shopping and i haven't) then again part of this is because i keep having to go home every weekend for the past month for a variety of reasons so hopefully this weekend i can get my shit together
Started working in an office for the summer. Worst idea ever. Sure, I get paid and get experience, which I need in order to reach my dreams (whatever those are), but it's not exactly a liveable amount. 8 hours are simply too many and I have worked more than that at times. I think 6h should be considered a full work day because the last two hours are so freaking unproductive anyway. Thankfully I'm only part time employed so I get paid as long as I'm at work, so I can leave whenever I want and probably arrive whenever I want. Still need the money tho so I can't exactly slack.. I sort of wish I had a creative job instead, it would require hell of a lot more work and I'd make less money but it would probably be less miserable than not getting enough sleep and hating yourself all day. And probably also be more fulfilling and I'd feel as if I'm actually doing something and making progress. Seriously, if it weren't for the free coffee I would have just quit my job after day one. Shit, this comment got long...
I had a 9-5 job last year as a receptionist where I had a TON of down time, so it was totally fine for me to do my personal projects during those slow times, which was great.
I've recently taken a better paying/more intense job where personal projects aren't an option, which sounds like it's closer to what you're experiencing, Steve. And yeah, work now wipes me out.
My solution is to take it easy on weeknights and indulge in any laziness EXCEPT that I force myself to go to bed early, so I don't feel the urge to sleep in on Sat/Sun. This means I have tons of energy on the weekends for doing chores/errands in the morning and then grind away at personal projects in the afternoon/evenings.
Gosh, yeah, having a "typical office job" is SO exhausting. I've noticed it affecting my sleep - I sleep so much more now (like, 8-10 hours) because sitting at a desk is inexplicably draining. I try to plan something for myself to do in the evenings (e.g. taking a walk, playing tennis) so that I have something to look forward to, and also so that I don't just end up sitting around reading/watching Netflix for my entire evening. :/
I am teaching middle school right now, and my work days typically start at 7am, and end anywhere from 4-7, depending on how much grading, organizing, and prep I have to do. But I'm trying to make time for creative endeavors, too (at the moment, writing). It is REALLY hard to get up the energy to do it after a day of teaching. One thing that has helped is having a writing buddy. She and I email each other once a week with our goals for what we want to accomplish that week. It helps us hold ourselves accountable, and is a great source of feedback and support!
Yup, I've got that 8-to-5 workday going. Much of the "afterhours" during my first few months were spent watching TV or playing videos. I would go to sleep at 10:30pm so I could wake up at 6:30am. But then I found a side job of sorts, working as a conductor for a community orchestra. So those rehearsals and the prep work took up time, but it was a fun way to be busy and have a creative outlet.
musicismylove92 Just had another thought. It's like in high school (or even college) when you have SO MUCH going on with classes and activities and homework, but somehow we were able to do it all and more. When you're at an appropriate level of busy, you push yourself to make time for things and do it all. You just can't go overboard
I'm currently working a 8-5 M-F desk job (mostly answering calls), and I'm in law school with classes 4 nights a week till about 9:30-10ish. I don't remember the last time that I wasn't exhausted, but it's definitely put the value of what little off-time I have into perspective. I chose the job I'm at because they let me work on school stuff during my down time, which is extremely helpful. I also like to do little things to remind myself of why I'm working so hard, like speaking with people who do different variations of my "dream job".
I work 7-4 and straight out of college it felt like I had all the free time in the world and then it slowly became normal and now I want more free time. I'm definitely doing less work than when I was in college which is very nice.
I just started my first 8-5 job a couple months ago and I'm still trying to get the rest of my life on some sort of a schedule. Like my house cleaning is falling behind because once I get home I don't really want to do anything because I'm completely drained of motivation. I think it's about MAKING yourself do SOMETHING after work. Like clean something or try a new recipe or take up a new hobby. That's kind of been working but I think it's all just a matter of figuring out what works for you.
Oh my god I totally agree, it's crazy how draining I find my 8:30 to 4:30 job. And you're right, it's not as if the job is particularly taxing in and of itself. One thing I find that works for me is setting aside a couple days a week where I don't go home until 7 or so (today was that day for me, I just went over to my sister's and we hung out and had dinner). If I go straight home I will just crash and after that happens there is no way anything else will, but not going home and going to do something straight after work is something I found helpful for my sanity
I work 6am-2pm, so I have a few more middle of the day hours, but all I ever want to do after working a busy fast food coffee shift is sleep. And it's still light out, and there's, like errands to run, and I never accomplish what I say I'm going to.
Man I really feel this as well. I mean, I don't even work 9-5, I'm interning as an orchestra musician (orchestra academy is what it's called I guess), and just those 4hrs of rehearsal for 4-5 days through the week plus the concert, they drain my so much, mentally especially. I think it's a matter of how much you enjoy what you do... If it's just a thing you do for money and you aren't in it with your heart, it'll always sap loads of energy. Anyway, I'm glad you'll be done with that job soon - I'm sure doing your Master degree will be a lot more fulfilling.
I have an internship that is 9 to 5 and I FEEL this. I am so exhausted from (mostly) sitting in the office?
I don't have a 9-5 job, but I work 4 jobs. Which, obviously eats up a significant part of my time and energy as it is, in addition to being autistic and working towards completing two bachelor degrees. While I try to do a little bit of creative work each day, I'm often just so exhausted. I try to keep my creativity flowing my consuming other peoples work - I love reading fanfiction and listening to creative podcasts and such. Even if I am not updating my own fanfiction (its been 6 months and I feel horrible), at the very least I'm keeping the ideas flowing and not letting that part of my brain that loves to create just stop.
I think sometimes the most important thing to do is to just keep doing little things. I scribble down a 500 word fic, or flesh out an original character during my lunch break. I may not be completing my bigger words anytime soon, but it helps to keep me motivated and moving forward.
hahaha I feel this so much. I work from 7:45-6 and I just want to not do anything when I'm not working!
This is completely irrelevant but your voice is so soothing for some reason
I'm working 8-5 doing data analysis in a corporate setting. Lot of fun aspects and it pays well, but I definitely do feel drained when I get home (probably in part to my commute which lasts 3 hours a day). I think without such a huge commute I would be able to do more than just sit around and watch TV afterwards. Was nice hearing your thoughts on the subject!
Working 9-5 frickin sucks. It's turning me washed out and bitter honestly! I enjoyed my job for the first while, but being a little over a year into it, it's becoming such a drag. I find myself annoyed that I have to be there, doing MAYBE 3 hours of productive stuff and then 5 hours of filler. The thing is, where I work, there's an overwhelming sense that NO ONE wants to be there, so it's a huge downer basically. Luckily my contract runs out 8 months...
I'm a computer programmer, and my hours are flexible. I enjoy solving problems, and I often have new and different problems to solve. That is what keeps things interesting for me. I am also often learning new things like programming languages, APIs, and algorithms. Learning is fun. :)
I am not in a full time position right now (YAY UNI) but I normally work 40 hour weeks during the summer as an optical assistant + did it during my gap year - oh the glorious benefits of having a trade skill that's pretty much always in demand - and I definitely remember how exhausted it made me, but honestly, I really like having structure to my days, and I normally find myself incredibly motivated to do extra things around my full day. The only limit is transportation and if someone's cooking me dinner!
I know a lot of authors who say when they had full time jobs, if they wanted to write during that day they had no choice but to do it by getting up at five in the morning because if they left it till the end of the day they would have zero creative energy left at all.
I occasionally write and do stuff that would seem recognisably like work, and after an hour I start to die and I don't know how on earth anybody can actually do that for eight hours a day. it seems terrible.
I wish my job was as predictable as 9-5, or 7-4 or whatever, but it's basically 7 (sometimes earlier) to whenever I get done. Sometimes that's early, but sometimes it's really not. Like when I go to basically the border of South Dakota and back, that takes a while.
Unrelated to video content, but your audio sounds real nice :)
I work 8-6 most days and have yet to figure out how to function outside of work. My current evening and weekend time is spent eating, sleeping and watching tv so please pass on any advise on how to achieve a functioning lifestyle.
That sounds awful! Not wanting to wake up, not being able to go to sleep? Work should never do that to you Steve! I remember at my first internship I went 12-4 but I always stayed half an hour late and during holidays I would volunteer to work full time, even when it was 99% empty. I loved that job. It's how all jobs should be, I think.Also, dyejob?
I wish that the 8 hour work day wasn't a standard, because it really is far longer than it needs to be for most jobs. I think that people would be much better off if work days were shortened. That way you get everything done in the time that the job needs and then you're done and you can do something else.
I work in the performing arts and our hours are a bit different. They're structured to actually be the hours you need to be working. So if you need to do 10+ hours in a day you do, and if you only need to do 3 hours then that's what you do. It can be really demanding, but I find it more worthwhile for me than working a 9-5 in a retail store.
woo 8 to 5 jobs at university offices... i was a part time (~10hr/week, $9-something/hour) student assistant at my school's registrar's office for two years. When I graduated they offered me a full time temp staff position (let's just say staff pay is way better. like practically a livable wage??? whoa) so i've been doing that for the past couple weeks. some days are more draining than others, like the days where i keep finding things i don't have access to that should have been fixed 3 weeks ago -_- or when i run out of stuff to do and just get board. but the 15 minute breaks in the morning and afternoon plus lunch help me get through the day. i feel it when i get home though. i'm not sleepy tired exactly, it's just i don't want to do anything. this is one of the messiest states i've ever let my room get to, comparable to finals week hell. i've never cooked much but i do so even less now. (especially right now because i need to go grocery shopping and i haven't)
then again part of this is because i keep having to go home every weekend for the past month for a variety of reasons so hopefully this weekend i can get my shit together
Started working in an office for the summer. Worst idea ever. Sure, I get paid and get experience, which I need in order to reach my dreams (whatever those are), but it's not exactly a liveable amount. 8 hours are simply too many and I have worked more than that at times. I think 6h should be considered a full work day because the last two hours are so freaking unproductive anyway. Thankfully I'm only part time employed so I get paid as long as I'm at work, so I can leave whenever I want and probably arrive whenever I want. Still need the money tho so I can't exactly slack..
I sort of wish I had a creative job instead, it would require hell of a lot more work and I'd make less money but it would probably be less miserable than not getting enough sleep and hating yourself all day. And probably also be more fulfilling and I'd feel as if I'm actually doing something and making progress. Seriously, if it weren't for the free coffee I would have just quit my job after day one.
Shit, this comment got long...