I left my old job a few months ago to take a PhD position, which requires in addition to classes to do as much research as possible (practically this is 20 hours a week but it varies). I have a pretty good system going where I work from 11-7 or 8 6 days a week even though I have no set hours. What I am finding, however, is that I am having a lot of trouble getting my mind off work when I am done with it. When it is 10pm at night on a Friday, for example, I cant help but think there is something that I have to be doing. Sometimes Ill wake up at night in a panic thinking āShit, Ive gotta do that too.ā or āI have to get this done by tomorrow as well.ā I need to figure out a way to let this stuff go, as it is affecting my sleep and my productivity.
I know I am taking the right steps and am doing the right things because one colleague in particular gave me a complement on my work ethic, which I really needed because I was feeling like shit prior. My prior job had very strict rules and hours, so while the work itself sucked I knew after about 4 or 5pm on any given day I could leave it at the office and do whatever the hell I want. I am not used to setting my own hours and still finding time to chill out. It probably doesnt help that I am a workaholic haha.
So to the people of T-Nation who have jobs that arent a fixed 9 to 5, how do you get your mind to separate from work?
I have similar issues during my busy season at work. Iāll see spreadsheets in my dreams and randomly come up with solutions to problems in the middle of the night.
This was the remedy recommended to me, by a supervisor.
I didnāt sleep much this whole summer due to work. I have a large project that is one poorly worded email from lawyer involvement. Usually a workout, some whisky and reading before bed will calm my mind. On more stressful days, I usually get a very solid buzz.
Iāve never been good at this. But for a couple of brief periods, Iāve never had a job that didnāt require 60-70 hrs. per week. I also obsess over better/faster ways to do things which makes for those episodes of popping awake in the middle of sleep with a solution.
I think that some people (like me& many others) literally canāt shut it down. I also wake up at the exact time required without an alarm clock, whether itās a 45 min. nap or 3:00am one day and 5:00 am the next.
You might be an educatioholic. Look up your local chapter of academics anonymous. I know a few of people with one PhD, some with two, masters, and multiple minors. Some of them are unreachable. Once they crossed that line into professorship it was obvious that their path was set and it was going to be a way of life.
To preface, I could count on two hands how many times I have used. Iāve always been against itās legalization, because of the the perceived effects insinuated by your question, as well as I donāt think most people can act responsibly. With that said..
On a personal level, no, it hasnāt changed or impacted my life in any way. I havenāt noticed any additional crime, scum hanging around, etc. Although, I live in an area with fairly high crime rates and poverty, but this is mostly due to the number of prisons in my area. I live in a good neighborhood, so I am insulated, I suppose. Weed has been legal here for quite some time medicinally, and doesnāt have the same negative connotation has other places I have lived. Too be honest, I donāt think many additional people, like myself, are using due to the legal change. Instead, it just gives people a more convenient place to purchase. Everybody who wanted to use before, either got a script, or just had a dealer. I dislocated a finger and was offered a script, really not hard to receive at all.
On a non personal level, from what I hear, DUIs are up. Also, a serious issue is that ownersā of dispensaries cannot put their money in a bank, because banks are federally insured, and MJ is federally illegal. They end up leaving the money in safes in their shop, and there have been quite a few break ins. I have a banker friend who says that people frequently come in to open an account, claiming they are in the agriculture business.. heās apparently had to go through quite a bit of training to identify āmoney launderingā.
On a positive note, a taffy is like $3 and will put you to sleep.
Falling asleep isnāt an issue, but I have this problem. I wake up, without an alarm, thinking about work and canāt go back to sleep. Fortunately, 95% of the time it is a reasonable time to wake up. Iāve just taken it as motivation to do morning cardio, respond to emails, or get some reading in.
If youāre doing a PhD the only answer to finish.
If youāre thinking research and number of hours worked, you picked the wrong gig. You may blow a year sorting through nothing, then get a publishable result in the course of a couple of weeks. Itās just how it works and it gets better once you āget on a scentā like if you were a hunting dog.
And FWIW I track my hours because it helps me stay productive when I am tired. I have found that pushing myself to ensure I get 7-9 hours a day helps me stay ahead of school work so if something comes up I can allocate time as needed or take a break. As an example, because I got my work done a few days in advance I was able to take a short trip with my friends to support one of our buddies DJ at a bar we used to go too. Totally worth it haha.
