I'm so mentally exhausted, it's making me physically exhausted
December 2, 2008 6:08 AM Subscribe
How to I keep my energy and spirits up while working a job I heavily dislike?
Given the economy, I anticipate not being able to find a new one within the next few months. However, I find that working 50 hours a week for an indefinite period of time in a role and environment that I find 100% dreadful (as opposed to say, 40% dreadful, which I can handle) is really sapping my energy, and negativity is starting to leak into other areas of my life. I know that this in turn will make it harder for me to find a job after the holidays, when I've told myself I will start looking. Usually just taking action (like an informational interview on another field or company, sending out applications) perks me up, but I find that I just end up more tired afterwards this time around. How do I stop this?
I try to get outside once or twice during the day to get some sunlight. I make a conscious effort to eat well and spend time with friends and family. Getting 7-8 hours of sleep a night is generally not a problem because I'm zonked at bedtime anyway and fall asleep easily at that time.
I'd really like to take on an interesting personal project (looking for one) to eat up my time and keep my mind occupied, and I know I should be exercising but I'm just...so...tired (mentally and physically).
Given the economy, I anticipate not being able to find a new one within the next few months. However, I find that working 50 hours a week for an indefinite period of time in a role and environment that I find 100% dreadful (as opposed to say, 40% dreadful, which I can handle) is really sapping my energy, and negativity is starting to leak into other areas of my life. I know that this in turn will make it harder for me to find a job after the holidays, when I've told myself I will start looking. Usually just taking action (like an informational interview on another field or company, sending out applications) perks me up, but I find that I just end up more tired afterwards this time around. How do I stop this?
I try to get outside once or twice during the day to get some sunlight. I make a conscious effort to eat well and spend time with friends and family. Getting 7-8 hours of sleep a night is generally not a problem because I'm zonked at bedtime anyway and fall asleep easily at that time.
I'd really like to take on an interesting personal project (looking for one) to eat up my time and keep my mind occupied, and I know I should be exercising but I'm just...so...tired (mentally and physically).
Best answer: This thread might help, for a start.
What kind of work are you doing, and what is it about it that is particularly awful? I see from your question history that you're an engineer by training - are you still doing that job? Or is this a stopgap job outside of your field?
I ask because I found that doing nearly the same job (in terms of mental concentration) for another company completely changed things, and it was the hours and being away from home that were the killer, not the work itself.
If you're getting a normal amount of sleep, eating well and so on and still feeling drained of energy, there may be something else going on. One thing that might help would be to start bike commuting or doing some other kind of 'can't avoid it' exercise. I started doing this a month or so back and it's done wonders for how I feel both in and out of work.
You also need to start planning your move away right now. As in, get off MeFi and start doing it now. After Christmas is when every man jack is going to be looking for a job, either because they've done the classic 'this festive season I must reassess my priorities' or because they've been laid off and know that January is when hiring might start again. Get a jump on them. I know you're tired, but writing things down, planning things out and getting out there will make the difference.
posted by Happy Dave at 6:29 AM on December 2, 2008
What kind of work are you doing, and what is it about it that is particularly awful? I see from your question history that you're an engineer by training - are you still doing that job? Or is this a stopgap job outside of your field?
I ask because I found that doing nearly the same job (in terms of mental concentration) for another company completely changed things, and it was the hours and being away from home that were the killer, not the work itself.
If you're getting a normal amount of sleep, eating well and so on and still feeling drained of energy, there may be something else going on. One thing that might help would be to start bike commuting or doing some other kind of 'can't avoid it' exercise. I started doing this a month or so back and it's done wonders for how I feel both in and out of work.
You also need to start planning your move away right now. As in, get off MeFi and start doing it now. After Christmas is when every man jack is going to be looking for a job, either because they've done the classic 'this festive season I must reassess my priorities' or because they've been laid off and know that January is when hiring might start again. Get a jump on them. I know you're tired, but writing things down, planning things out and getting out there will make the difference.
posted by Happy Dave at 6:29 AM on December 2, 2008
I'd really like to take on an interesting personal project (looking for one) to eat up my time and keep my mind occupied, and I know I should be exercising but I'm just...so...tired (mentally and physically).
Physical issue first: how well are you sleeping? 50 hours of work a week isn't that much, and that could be setting up a vicious circle where if you're not sleeping well, you're tired, and that puts you in a funk, and you have a horrid time at work, which makes you sleep worse, and...if you're not getting enough sleep, start there, and that can improve coping with everything across the board. (Note: I am not saying that you will wake up in the morning excited about going to work all of a sudden, just that this will make everything more deal-with-it-able.) Enough sleep could also help restore the energy for exercise, which will in turn also contribute to your cope-level.
As for an interesting personal project -- well, there are scores of those. How much of your mental energy does your job actually require? Some require a lot, some...not so. If you need to be "on" a lot where you work, maybe starting small, with something that's just for you, like...perfecting your pot roast recipe. Tinkering with the spices to produce the ur-recipe. Or maybe -- make a list of ten movies on [x] topic, and then rent them, spend 2 weeks watching them, and decide which is best. Or round up a couple friends for a weekly or bi-weekly board game/card game/something-like-that session.
That may start lifting you out of the funk to branch out into other, more ambitious, things, which I leave to your own taste and personal interests to discover.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:30 AM on December 2, 2008
Physical issue first: how well are you sleeping? 50 hours of work a week isn't that much, and that could be setting up a vicious circle where if you're not sleeping well, you're tired, and that puts you in a funk, and you have a horrid time at work, which makes you sleep worse, and...if you're not getting enough sleep, start there, and that can improve coping with everything across the board. (Note: I am not saying that you will wake up in the morning excited about going to work all of a sudden, just that this will make everything more deal-with-it-able.) Enough sleep could also help restore the energy for exercise, which will in turn also contribute to your cope-level.
As for an interesting personal project -- well, there are scores of those. How much of your mental energy does your job actually require? Some require a lot, some...not so. If you need to be "on" a lot where you work, maybe starting small, with something that's just for you, like...perfecting your pot roast recipe. Tinkering with the spices to produce the ur-recipe. Or maybe -- make a list of ten movies on [x] topic, and then rent them, spend 2 weeks watching them, and decide which is best. Or round up a couple friends for a weekly or bi-weekly board game/card game/something-like-that session.
That may start lifting you out of the funk to branch out into other, more ambitious, things, which I leave to your own taste and personal interests to discover.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:30 AM on December 2, 2008
EmpressCallipygos: the OP said "Getting 7-8 hours of sleep a night is generally not a problem because I'm zonked at bedtime anyway and fall asleep easily at that time." Sleep does not seem to be an issue.
posted by onshi at 6:34 AM on December 2, 2008
posted by onshi at 6:34 AM on December 2, 2008
Did this for about eight months whilst working on a project for a company that was absolutely toxic in every way, putting in 60-80 hr weeks on average. I made it because I was able to keep an end in sight. Keeping an end in sight might help you, too. This downturn will end. Engineers, techies and accountants are the cockroaches of the nuclear wasteland economy - we will survive, we're always in demand. Keep focused on that reality when you're looking for another job. There will be one. Probably close by. It might not pay as much as you'd like. But if it gets really, really bad where you currently work, it will be there.
If you're having a really rough day and not even the tiniest bit of satisfaction or enjoyment can break through the miasma of your workplace environment, break it into smaller chunks. You must have aspects of your job that are interesting or give you a bit of enjoyment to do, right? Focus on that. I had days at Craptopia (the company I did the horrible contract at) that I'd only get enjoyment from how well I'd handled a particular email or how quickly I'd been able to drill down an answer from the mountain of poorly organised data I'd been handed.
Get enough sleep. Really, get enough sleep. Take days off, if you can get them. Do you get lieu time instead of overtime, or does your company do that? Take the time, if you can.
Work out. Getting your blood pumping and full of endorphins makes a huge difference.
Take a good, hard look at why you're doing 50 hrs a week. Every so often, sure, but every week? Why? Anyone you can hand some of that work off to? Are you hanging on to it because it's landed there and you've been too demoralised/exhausted to shift it elsewhere?
And if it gets really bad, remember what I said about the cockroaches and nuclear wasteland economies. Take a couple of weeks holiday and just interview your socks off. Something better, or at least different, will come up.
posted by Grrlscout at 6:47 AM on December 2, 2008
If you're having a really rough day and not even the tiniest bit of satisfaction or enjoyment can break through the miasma of your workplace environment, break it into smaller chunks. You must have aspects of your job that are interesting or give you a bit of enjoyment to do, right? Focus on that. I had days at Craptopia (the company I did the horrible contract at) that I'd only get enjoyment from how well I'd handled a particular email or how quickly I'd been able to drill down an answer from the mountain of poorly organised data I'd been handed.
Get enough sleep. Really, get enough sleep. Take days off, if you can get them. Do you get lieu time instead of overtime, or does your company do that? Take the time, if you can.
Work out. Getting your blood pumping and full of endorphins makes a huge difference.
Take a good, hard look at why you're doing 50 hrs a week. Every so often, sure, but every week? Why? Anyone you can hand some of that work off to? Are you hanging on to it because it's landed there and you've been too demoralised/exhausted to shift it elsewhere?
And if it gets really bad, remember what I said about the cockroaches and nuclear wasteland economies. Take a couple of weeks holiday and just interview your socks off. Something better, or at least different, will come up.
posted by Grrlscout at 6:47 AM on December 2, 2008
Given the economy, I anticipate not being able to find a new one within the next few months.
Don't assume you can't find a job just because of the economy. I think in a lot of areas, the recession/depression hasn't been felt yet.
posted by jayder at 6:51 AM on December 2, 2008
Don't assume you can't find a job just because of the economy. I think in a lot of areas, the recession/depression hasn't been felt yet.
posted by jayder at 6:51 AM on December 2, 2008
Get outside, get some exercise.
In my experience stress at work can play havoc with the quality of your sleep (if not the duration). Getting exercise and eating right makes a big difference. Cutting right back on coffee helped me a lot too.
Get a plan.
Don't give up on looking for another job: get your CV/resume up to scratch, rough out a general covering letter or two. Maybe set up some jobsearch things on the internet to automate your search (for example, I have an RSS feed that scans various jobs boards for keywords). Obviously this might be industry-specific, but the idea is to get prepared so that you can act quickly when an opportunity arises.
Take your mind off work.
Exercise will help but if that's not your thing then another kind project would do. Perhaps take a course, or start a DIY project, whatever. As long as you have something important to you, that you can enthuse about, going on outside of the work environment.
posted by jonesor at 7:05 AM on December 2, 2008
In my experience stress at work can play havoc with the quality of your sleep (if not the duration). Getting exercise and eating right makes a big difference. Cutting right back on coffee helped me a lot too.
Get a plan.
Don't give up on looking for another job: get your CV/resume up to scratch, rough out a general covering letter or two. Maybe set up some jobsearch things on the internet to automate your search (for example, I have an RSS feed that scans various jobs boards for keywords). Obviously this might be industry-specific, but the idea is to get prepared so that you can act quickly when an opportunity arises.
Take your mind off work.
Exercise will help but if that's not your thing then another kind project would do. Perhaps take a course, or start a DIY project, whatever. As long as you have something important to you, that you can enthuse about, going on outside of the work environment.
posted by jonesor at 7:05 AM on December 2, 2008
Best answer: Hello, me!
Getting through the next few months is important, of course. But equally important is getting through each and every workday. The secret? Just as in kindergarten, the secret is really good snacks.
Plan your snacktimes and stick to them. Bring a snack that you can look forward to. Make sure it's a treat. Plan a morning snack, and a much-anticipated afternoon snack. Do not let anything come between you and snacktime. Put it on your calendar. Ritualize it. Fetishize it. After your 3 p.m. snack, lean back, pat your tummy, and exclaim "Only two more hours and I'm outta here!"
Seriously. It helps.
Only 65 minutes until cheese and crackers!
posted by mudpuppie at 9:26 AM on December 2, 2008 [2 favorites]
Getting through the next few months is important, of course. But equally important is getting through each and every workday. The secret? Just as in kindergarten, the secret is really good snacks.
Plan your snacktimes and stick to them. Bring a snack that you can look forward to. Make sure it's a treat. Plan a morning snack, and a much-anticipated afternoon snack. Do not let anything come between you and snacktime. Put it on your calendar. Ritualize it. Fetishize it. After your 3 p.m. snack, lean back, pat your tummy, and exclaim "Only two more hours and I'm outta here!"
Seriously. It helps.
Only 65 minutes until cheese and crackers!
posted by mudpuppie at 9:26 AM on December 2, 2008 [2 favorites]
EmpressCallipygos: the OP said "Getting 7-8 hours of sleep a night is generally not a problem because I'm zonked at bedtime anyway and fall asleep easily at that time." Sleep does not seem to be an issue.
True, but some people find that 9 or 10 hours of sleep is what they really need.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:27 AM on December 2, 2008
True, but some people find that 9 or 10 hours of sleep is what they really need.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:27 AM on December 2, 2008
I can't offer any advice other than what has been given, but I wanted to let you know taht you aren't alone.
I am also miserable at my job and desperately looking for an out.
I am a full time student with a full time job. Things are pretty miserable at the moment, but I use all of the negativity at my job as motivation to do well in school and get the heck out of here.
Hang in there.
posted by YFiB at 10:35 AM on December 2, 2008
I am also miserable at my job and desperately looking for an out.
I am a full time student with a full time job. Things are pretty miserable at the moment, but I use all of the negativity at my job as motivation to do well in school and get the heck out of here.
Hang in there.
posted by YFiB at 10:35 AM on December 2, 2008
Think of it as research for that novel you're going to write. Take notes, be an anthropologist, or a sociologist about it.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 6:07 PM on December 2, 2008
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 6:07 PM on December 2, 2008
Lots of good suggestions above. I'd also spend some time trying to pinpoint exactly what you want to be doing at your next job, to make it easier to job hunt for oen that meets criteria. Make a list or something.
posted by softlord at 8:01 PM on December 5, 2008
posted by softlord at 8:01 PM on December 5, 2008
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posted by PenDevil at 6:25 AM on December 2, 2008