Work-Life Balance

in Rant, Complain, Talk6 months ago

Something that has been bugging me for a while, which I haven't really spoken about properly, is work.


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Work

So, for the last 4 months or so, I've been working at a local heritage site, it's the kind of place that I had visited many times as a child, and it's usually the place we'd go if we had people in town, as I got older.

It's a really cool spot, and steeped in history, and in fact, I'd really like to do a blog on here talking about some of the facts about the place - especially now that I've been there a while and learned so much more than I'd ever thought I would.

Everything about the job is good; colleges, higher-ups, the clientele, the building itself, and in general, the duties while there. There's nothing that gets under my skin, except the days, or more so, how not having regular days has left me in a state of flux almost the entire time.

I work 3 days there, which is great, as I have plenty of time to do focus on other gigs I've got going, namely some editing work I picked up, and have been doing, as well as a few other things I've got on the side.

The odd days though, are a killer. I could do Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday one week, then Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday the next. This involves a lot of back and forth from Aimee's town to mine and leaves me with barely any time to settle anywhere.

On the flip side, if I do stints of days in a row, I can stay over at mine, I don't have to pay for busses back and forth, and Aimee is able to come up here with Kaleb to spend a night when the stars align and we're both off at the same time.



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Set Days

This month I was given my roster, and I have Thursday, Friday, and Saturday every week, which is great because now my travel costs are down compared to the daily commute. A return on the bus is €13, and it adds up when doing that 3 times a week, not to mention any other expenses that go along with it.

When I'm back home, I have my PC, so I can edit when I get back from work for a few hours until it's time to call it a night and get some sleep, but with the daily back and forth I couldn't do that.

Things are better now, but the worst thing about it is that one of Aimee's days off is Thursday, so it cuts out one of the only proper days we get to see each other and hang out as a family.


Not having set days, has made it a struggle to set any kind of routine for other stuff, and then because of that, I'm falling behind with other jobs I have on.

I haven't shot any music videos, because I just don't have time to, even though I've been asked. I haven't been jamming in months now, with the band, because trying to find time for that is near impossible, with the other stuff going on.

The selling online is doing okay, but I've got a lot of stuff waiting to be photographed, which I didn't have time to do while here.

Now that my days are set, though, will help with that, hopefully. Also, having set days might mean that I can set schedules, and routines for other things that have slipped in the last few months.

The stuff I'm selling is moving. It's slow, but I'm still getting used to everything, so I don't mind. Some of the money is coming back to me there, which is great, and what I have up seems to be attracting some good attention, so fingers crossed it picks up a bit more now, especially since I'm a lot more used to it.

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Work-life balance is something I thought would improve after Covid. But I have been working harder than ever since the lockdown. I say yes to everything as I must make hay while the sun shines. But I think I need to force myself to take a break as I am finding it harder and harder to relax and that is not good.
Hopefully, for you, your schedule will become more stable. I understand that chopping and changing is difficult, as switching hats from one job to another takes time.

Yeah, it's hard to bounce from one job to another. It's like shifting your whole mindset, so it's kind of tough.

I'm hoping that this will be the onset of potentially getting the schedule in order fully, where I can get into a good habit of knowing where I'm going to be, for how long, and how much time I can realistically put into my other gigs and projects.

I’ve been there man, the flexibility is great for a lot of reasons but it’s also your worst enemy for others. Hopefully with the set schedule you can be more productive and enjoy other things as it permits and get things in a bit of a schedule. Even if it varies throughout the summer it’s good to know July is this, august is this, September is this. Makes it much easier to plan things!

That would make things so much easier, and at least I'd be able to plan accordingly. In fairness, my supervisor is really understanding, and flexible, especially since I have a small child, which is great. So, I'm hoping that this will be the start of having things properly in order, moving forward I think it'll get easier.

I remember doing shift work and it was ok as a young person, but when you have family, it is preferable to have the set working times and days so you can plan more. Fingers crossed things stay more stable for you.

Thanks, man, yeah here's hoping. It would make things so much easier, especially when it comes to planning, and being able to organise days we can do family stuff. As well as that, it'll allow me to fall into a good routine, where I can plan days/ hours I can put into some of the other gigs I've picked up.