Aside from the peril of travelling during the wee hours going to work in a call center, one of the most dreaded part of a tech support engineer or a customer service representative is enduring the 9 hour graveyard shift. (im talking about Philippine work time scene).
Officially, a graveyard shift is a work time schedule running through the early hours of the morning, specifically between midnight -- 12am to 8am. It's the time of the night where the skin is dank, where it's so hard to get out of bed as our body and subconscious are trying to enter the REM state, and most of all, when the world is totally silent, like a graveyard.
The list goes on and on relating to fighting sleep and drowsiness during a graveyard schedule, but my list here is designed specifically for the call boys and girls out there:
- Drink 3-4 cups of black/green tea in between your breaks
Researches and studies have proven that tea is rich in flavanoids - phytonutrients with anti-oxidant benefits. In turn, drinking tea aromatically touches the sensory nerves to promote relaxation. One of Lipton's slogan: "Clear thinking - Tea can do that"; is so true indeed!
- Get mobile during your calls
There'd be times when your head feels like banging on the desk board while emphatizing with your customer - it's like sleep is luring you to enter dreamland, the body feels like it but the mind is still active, enabling your oral abilities to convey your thoughts to the customer in a tiresome, lousy, indolent pace of voice. In times like these, get moving, stand-up and do some mild aerobic exercise with your headset on. It's what i call physical multi-tasking while on call. :)
- Take a power nap during your 1-hour break
Getting a 10-15 minute sleep during your 1 hour break revitalizes your senses. Instead of puffing those cigarettes, get into the habit of practicing this. I'm not in the call center anymore but i carried over this habit on my new environment - allocating a nap during my one hour break.
- Avoid setting up for a sugar rush.
It will only leave you exhausted. If you're really into sweets, don't eat 'em during your most zombie state of the night, instead, devour your chocolates during the last 2-hours of your shift
- Keep your bottle of H20 easily grabbed
I had a seat mate before and one of his rituals in starting the shift is filling in the small water jug (1 liter) and then neatly organizing it on top of his desk with matching napkins. Every now and then, he gulps, then go on AUX-break to go for the restroom. :)
Actually, it's one way to keep you moving and to defy lethargy.
- Get a sound, meaningful and really satisfying sleep before you hit graveyard shift
Easier said than done, there are ways though on how to get a satisfying sleep during the daytime, so as not to ruin your waking hours during the graveyard. I have tested physical activity that could really make you somber and be enthralled into a deep relaxation afterwards. Other's turn to massages but why would you bother if your partner is available?
Sometimes, we feel like quitting the graveyard or the night shift due to fatigue and exhaustion. The zombie-like feeling is a real crap on our nerves esp after the shift is over, that it occasionally produces a drooling -effect while inside the bus or the jeep or whatever vehicle you're in as you head home (unless you're the driver of the car). The bottom line is, the graveyard shift is STRESSFULL.
I heard this before, but then i realized, stress is a form of tribulation; tribulation begets patience; patience begets hope. Where there is hope.. there is love. Loving your work in the graveyard shift is still the best way to counter the difficulties that are norm already. Always find something that will inspire you to get your ass feet moving in going to the creepy silent night of the graveyard schedule.
posted by mac