On a Graveyard Shift? Survive With Our Comprehensive Selfcare Resource for Nightshift Agents

Nightshift & Offshore Outsourcing

Shared services and outsourcing companies hire agents to assist customers based in global time zones, providing 24/7 the kind of customer service that keeps companies competitive. However, this often means that employees work long hours at night. Organizations expect agents to function efficiently while communicating with customers despite lacking restful sleep.

Like their support agent siblings, freelancers talk to offshore clients. Occasionally, they too, must work offshore office hours. Their clients want to provide real-time feedback to ensure that project goals are met.

If you are an agent or a freelancer, you might end up working through the night. The trick is to do a great job and maintain your health. The graveyard shift can be a wild ride with disrupted sleep patterns and social isolation. Nightshift can disrupt your daily routine and make it hard to take care of yourself properly.

Love Yourself Better for Better Work-Life Balance

Selfcare habits make a big difference in your life. There are different kinds of selfcare you can practice:

• Physical selfcare: Recharge before taking on another challenge. Sometimes this means putting off a chore or something you've planned for the day. It sounds counterproductive, but you can schedule short moments of physical selfcare without sacrificing other commitments.

• Emotional selfcare: Fully experience your emotions by expressing them to yourself or others. You will feel more relieved once you acknowledge your feelings. Selfcare habits are also challenging to build, so you should learn to be patient with yourself and be prepared to say "no."

• Intellectual selfcare: When you aren't progressing on a particular task, change gears to another equally important task to engage your mind differently.

• Social selfcare: Maintaining relationships will help you feel safer and supported as you build other selfcare habits. No matter how busy your schedule may be, spend quality time with your friends or family by adding a "Game Night" or "Date Night" to your calendar.

Nightshift Exists for Night Owls and the Rest of Us

If you're naturally a night owl and would rather sleep during the day, then any industry with nightshift work sounds like the perfect job for you. But the graveyard shift isn't everyone's first choice. Other factors cause someone to embrace the night, like job availability and compensation.

Nightshift, Better in Theory...

Working at night can take a toll on your health over time. This is because humans are adapted to the natural rhythm of activity during the day. Hopefully, you're sleeping when the rest of the world goes about its day — but you will be missing quality time with family and friends.So, how will you live la vida night for your work life? With the proper selfcare habits, you'll conquer the night and thrive during your challenging work hours.

Ten Selfcare Habits for Night Workers

1. Get Enough Sleep

Try to get 7-9 hours of sleep every night. Anything less, and you could end up fatigued, underperforming, and a candidate for burnout.

Optimize your environment to get the best sleep possible during the day. This means lowering the temperature of your bedroom with air conditioning or a fan and keeping it dark. Use thick curtains to block any sunlight from coming in. These will make it easier to keep your room cool and allow your body to produce melatonin, a hormone that facilitates sleep.

If you can't sleep because of noise, use earplugs or white noise. According to the Sleep Foundation, white noise or soothing rain sounds improve your sleep quality. Here's a 10-hour video of white noise you can use.

2. Set Your Priorities for the Shift

If you are overwhelmed by tasks, make a short list of the top 3 things you need to accomplish for the day. Everything else can take a backseat, or you will need to reconsider the importance of the items on your list.

The energy you put into everything you do is a valuable resource. By setting priorities early on, you avoid spreading yourself too thin and burnout in the long run. You can use a free sticky notes tool to track what you have to do or journal your goals.

3. Take the Time to Celebrate

Stepping into a night shift role is demanding, so maintaining and building your selfcare habits will be challenging. Celebrate small wins to keep your momentum.

For instance, if you're less irritable on your graveyard shift because you're well-rested, that's an achievement! You can encourage yourself with an affirmation like "You are well-rested and ready to tackle whatever challenges come your way today!"

Here are some other self-affirmations you can weave into your self-talk: 50 Self-Affirmations to Help You Stay Motivated Every Day

4. Water Is Your Friend: Limit Your Alcohol and Caffeine Intake

Water is essential at your workstation. Stay hydrated throughout your shift to avoid feeling tired because of thirst. Conversely, avoid over-caffeinating on the job or whooping it up after every shift. Although coffee can be your go-to on late nights, drinking too much caffeine can make you feel jittery and dial-up cardiovascular diseases. Try to finish that last cup of joe no later than 5 hours before bedtime.

Alcohol lowers sleep quality Although it's a sedative, you'll be unable to experience deep sleep. Instead, you'll face sleeping problems because of alcohol.

5. Plan Your Meals

Meal planning ensures you get enough protein in your diet to stay awake. Aside from saving you money in the long run, it's a routine that avoids fatigue from work and munching on unhealthy snacks.

Prepare your meals ahead of time and map out each option for the entire week so you don't have to worry about your meal after an exhausting shift. You can also use grocy, a comprehensive tool to manage your meals and available resources.

6. Go Out With Your Friends on the Weekend

Your schedule might leave you feeling disconnected from friends and family. Work to stay close to the people you treasure the most. They nurture your emotional wellness and support your best self.

During downtime, have a picnic, movie night, hike, or even a simple dinner to catch up with your loved ones.

7. Exercise at Least 30 Minutes per Day

Exercise provides a host of goodness: it reduces stress, keeps you energized, and makes you healthier. It doesn't need to take a lot of time or need a gym membership. Try this 10-minute workout video before your shift. Alternatively, maybe yoga is more your thing. The important thing is that you dedicate time each day to your selfcare, which is much less than the 8 hours you commit to your job.

8. Completely Disconnect for Better Focus and Energy

When you log out of your shift, stay logged out. Establish boundaries between work and your personal time. To prevent burnout, limit your access to work-related apps or emails. This way, you can focus on other things during your free time and return to work re-energized. Remove work apps from your personal devices and set up a separate account on your PC if you use them for your job.

9. Coordinate Your Schedule With Your Housemates

If you are living with other people, inform them about your schedule. By telling people that you will work the night shift, they can take the necessary steps to accommodate your needs. Add your weekly schedule to the fridge, or email it to them. This way, they'll know to keep things quiet while you sleep and anticipate your nocturnal comings and goings.

10. Stay on Track With a Consistent Schedule

By following a schedule, you can maintain your selfcare habits despite working the graveyard shift. This way, you can protect your day-to-day needs, such as quality sleep and exercise.

Check-in With Yourself and Be Patient

Selfcare rituals take time. Be patient with what you can do, and focus on what's achievable. As you work through another night shift for your employer, remember to check in with yourself.

After all, your career is just a means to an end. Allocate some of your time and energy to your personal goals and reconnect with your loved ones.