How has a 9-5 life treated me? (2 months in)

Alright? If you remember that a while ago (8 weeks to be exact) I moved to a 9 -5 job after working in shift work for close to 10 years. I thought it would be a good idea to share some things I have learnt during this time. Shall we?

 Lunch breaks truly are a wondrous thing

In my previous job, I was a manager and that meant I couldn’t leave the building from the minute I started my day until the cinema was closed and everyone had left. I would get a break of course, but I had to be ready to help out at any time, so I got no time to just relax. A lot of the time I would just take some bites when I could.

Well, now I get to roam free and enjoy the outside world for a little bit every day! You truly underestimate how nice it is to just walk around for 40 minutes to an hour. It has been 5 weeks not since I started this new role and not one day have I spent the entire break inside. I get my lunch and sit down outside and eat and then walk around for a bit and enjoy the freedom. I will bring an umbrella with me if it is raining as I just love being outside, also I had a walking challenge to contend with!

 

Having the weekend to do what you want

I know I spoke about this previously, but I don’t think I fully grasped the concept of having the weekend and evenings to myself, to do what I want. I found the first couple of weekends that I was quite lazy and didn’t do too much as I was just happy to relax. Whereas before I would only have one day off at the weekend if I was lucky, so I would cram as much activities etc. as possible into that day and it would be a little tiring, to say the least. But now, I can use the evenings to go out for dinner, go to the gym or for a run (hell even a walk). I try to get a lot of the household chores done on the weekdays now so then I have the weekend to fully do what I want.

One aspect I hadn’t really thought about was the mini-break. I can now be one of those people who take weekend breaks away to a different place. Before this would have been quite awkward to organise as I would have taken time off during the busiest part of the week due to Victoria working 9-5 also. Plus it would be rare for me to get a day shift, so I would have to use one of my holiday days for the Friday. Losing those days like that is a little heart-breaking. But now I don’t have to worry, as long as I have everything ready and packed for Friday after work. Victoria and I can disappear for the weekend with only having to make sure that her cat is looked after. Lovely!

 

Walking more

I can now confirm that my average steps have gone up even though I am in a job that requires me to sit (though when I am back in the main office I can stand again) I try my best to walk in and from work and that is a good 7,000 – 8,000 steps one way. I haven’t stayed at my desk for lunch. In fact, I make it a point to get up and walk around. I don’t want to be at my desk if I am on a break. I want to be walking around enjoying the outdoors. On average my work day probably provides me with around 17,000 steps if I walk in and out. That just means I leave the house a little before 8am and I make it home a little after 6. I still have over 5, maybe 6 hours of my day left.

In my previous job, I would finish late at night and I didn’t want to deal with having to walk past all the drunken people. Or I would go to the gym, so sometimes not getting home until 1 or 2am. Now I can walk or run home (yet to try that, but I feel it may be coming next week) or head to the gym and maybe be home for 7.30. This is perfect for me. Why? Here is why.

 

Using my time better

Since I moved to this working pattern (admittedly after a few weeks of adjusting) I have found that I am using my time way better than before. I have began to schedule things again. You may have noticed I am almost back onto a decent schedule with my posts for example. I have found time to exercise and I am able to keep to my intermittent fasting schedule too. Before I would waste my mornings to evenings because I knew I had limited time and I had no structure to plan my life. Now, I know the structure and I can plan accordingly. I hope to plan my weekly exercise times better and to be consistent. I want to get up early and go to the gym or for a run with Victoria. Now in this new schedule, I can feel like I can do that. It really is freeing and that is something I had always heard was the opposite of what 9-5 was meant to feel like.

I am sure if I was working in a totally freelance way and earning more money I would have something to complain about, but currently, I feel this is my natural progression in life. Go from shift work to 9-5 and if I am lucky eventually to some sort of freelance, where I work on my time. Until then though, I am going to enjoy this as I can’t imagine not doing so.

 

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