#even after 10hrs of sleep

[blackat-t7t]

Whyyyy am I always exhausted during the day but then full of energy at night?

It's been Worse these past two weeks or so. I literally cannot make myself get out of bed, and when I finally do I feel like I'll pass out the minute I close my eyes again.

Body, why?

[phagodyke]

bc im deaf i have to use a vibrating alarm to wake up instead of an audible one but mine is fucking BROKEN the battery runs down so fast + unexpectedly + it keeps randomly shutting down even when its NOT out of charge so how am i supposed to wake up!!!!!!!! blegh

[girlietips]

8 weeks to a fixed sleep schedule

A little time line for getting your sleep schedule together. You could do all these steps really quickly but it’s better to ease into these things.

Week 1

Pick a time you should wake up at to do a short morning routine without to much of a rush.

Go from your wake up time back 7hrs (at least) this is the time you are going to set your phone to turn off. In settings you can have it go into dnd and limit certain apps.

You probably won’t fall asleep in time if you aren’t used to it but you absolutely have to get up on time. (Don’t move on to week 2 steps until you have enough discipline to get out of bed)

This week is probably gonna suck but if you wake up on time you should eventually begin to fall asleep earlier.

Week 2

Start creating a calming night time routine with at least 30 mins off your phone before bed.

Also if you are still struggling with sleeping I would make sure you are limiting caffeine after 3pm. There is also a lot of little things you can do to help you fall asleep and I can make another post about it.

Keep waking up at the same time to get it fully into your system

Week 3/4/5

Begin pushing your wind down for bed time to earlier and earlier but keep your alarm at the same time. Allow your body to soak up that 8-10hrs of sleep

Also take notice of your natural wake up time and how much sleep you need to feel your best. I like to do this in a journal.

Use these couple weeks to experiment with the night time routine you enjoy the most.

Week 6/7/8

Pick a good wake up time that will allow you to have a nice slow morning and not feel rushed at all. This is when you start jumping out of bed because you love doing your morning routine.

Also start going with your circadian rhythm. I like to use the sun as a good indicator for my sleep. Sun up is work time and activities. Sun down is calm soothing activities.

Other tips

Don’t do anything but sleep in your bed it should be a place of rest not work.

Invest in good bedding (makes a world of difference)

I recommend a sunrise alarm clock. It slowly lights the room before your alarm so you are not jolted awake.

Keep your sleep schedule sacred and don’t let anyone (even yourself) disrupt it.

Also for all you who say you “work better late at night” I want you to seriously answer this question.

Do you actually work better at night or do you work better under a forced time crunch and the stress you created by procrastinating???

Because one of those can be reasonably healthy if that’s how your body actually works and the other is putting your body under unnecessary stress and adding sleep deprivation to it. If you genuinely are a night owl make sure you are still getting the sleep you need.

[thezoraprince]

Nap Time - Sidon x reader

“good evening my friend are u ok with writing sidlink x reader? if not sidon is fine wonderful obviously but i would like to request some cozy naptime with the prince(s) as i had a 10 hour shift today and am dying in irl. details up to u 😳 ty ^-^ !!!” - @mantaphase​

hi hi!! 10hr days are not fun at all. i hope you’ve gotten some rest since sending this in, and i hope you enjoy <3 

(Link will be posted here)

y/n - your name

Sidon knows when you're feeling tired

he’ll start noticing all of these visual indicators that you need to nap

and when you admit that you’re tired, he’ll carry you to bed

if you’ve had a super long day though

he doesn’t even need to hear you say anything

you’ll walk in 

and you’re in his arms already

he’ll lay down with you

and you’d rest your head on his arm

him holding you ever so close

you’d try to make light chit chat

and Sidon would chuckle at the nonsense coming from your mouth

“Shh shh shh… it’s time to sleep, darling.”

he’d give you lots of back rubs

you’d nuzzle your face into his neck for comfort

and he LOVES it

after you fall asleep, he’ll lay there for a bit

he runs his fingers through your hair and just smiles

but he knows you’ll be sleeping for a while

and he’d love for you to wake up feeling refreshed

so he heads out to get you flowers 

and little trinkets that remind him of you

he’d even have the chefs prepare dinner while he’s out

just so it’s ready when you wake

and when you do wake, it’s always a surprise

“There’s my precious pearl! How did you sleep?”

over dinner, Sidon wants to know all about your day

and after hearing the exhausting details, he’s oh so ready to spend a night in with you

whatever you want to do, he’s up for

even if it’s going back to sleep

“Rest is very important, y/n. I’ll be right here when you wake.”

[maxident-xx]

me when chronically online children try to act like good parents

‘7-9 your phone but you only get it 6hrs every day???’ please i got my first phone at the grand age of 10 and i had it for like 1hr after school 😭 even now i dont get 6hrs of screen time tf??

‘unless you get r*ped you have 4 options’ please tell me you wouldn’t actually let your kid have to go through the pain of being pregnant before the double digits… (the 4 options where keep it abort it raise it or give it away?? hell no i would NEVER put my child through that horror..)

makeup is crazy bro my kids will get makeup at the age of 13-14 and even then it’s barely any.. no toddler should be wearing lipgloss anyways.. maybe that kiddie fake makeup if they are interested but nothing messy??

9-13 10hrs of screen time HELL no you have school from 8:40-3:20 so like 8hrs of school and then like 10 hrs would be until 1am you get your phone for however long it is appropriate (i give mine in at 8 to not disturb my sleep..)

sorry for the rant this person is just wilding..

(it was a yt comment)

letting a one year old let lip gloss. what the actual fuck. please do not let your child wear make up until their face has matured and they actually want to wear it..

this is really disappointing dude... no way your shitty grammar ass can raise a child 😭

[petite-ursus]

My anxiety is still percolating.

I think it's both the changing of the seasons and then just... three straight months of drinking and staying out late every single weekend (no ragrats.)

I took this weekend off from drinking and went cozy. Normal weekly walk, then went to the the thrift store, got a nice new leather jacket (for $7!!!), wandered an antique store, got some new plants from a local plant store. Rearranged the house a little, sort of in preparation of winter. Give myself new things to look at, and nice plants to be surrounded with as the winter months come in. Crocheted every night for admittedly way too long.

And today. Still anxious. Like. It's not wild. It's actually annoying. If you've had anxiety for a long time maybe you understand. Analytically I know the source. Analytically nothing has changed and everything is fine. But physically, it's just a pervasive feeling in my chest. Little flutters. Tightness in my throat. Tired. Like I want to go home and sleep after work, but I know (aNaLyTiCaLlY) that going to the gym will make me feel better. But also, when my anxiety is high like this the cardio portion of the workouts tend to be hard which is embarrassing (to me) because I have to take more rests during the workout so my heart rate doesn't spike and I don't have a panic attack. :) So. One of the things that will absolutely help me feel better will also stress me out potentially.

I have a climbing date this Saturday. Then a concert with friends Sunday.

Next weekend is blissfully blank, so probably another stay in weekend.

Then the weekend after that hair, more climbing, and the ren fair.

Then camping.

I'm both glad I have these scheduled reasons to keep poking my head out of the house... and also... part of me wants to cancel everything. Almost sold my concert ticket to get gear for camping... And half want to cancel the camping and just stay home but off work for those days... aha.

It is going to be cold, and I believe I can make it cozy and fun, but it's going to be highly dependent on the weather. If it looks like it's going to rain the whole time I really may pass... I want to go. I want to camp and hike and collect rocks... I just wish it wasn't 10hrs from home. That part makes it such an ordeal... And even though I'm not new to camping I haven't camped for more than a day since before The Time of Darkness and the time of year I'm going is just a little less forgiving than say early summer. Wet, chilly...early dusk.

Kind of over dating. Did it all summer... have so many matches and unread messages... Don't think I have another yap session with a stranger in me. I just. Don't like anyone. I'm still at a point where even when I think someone seems nice a part of me thinks "Well you thought Haley was nice too. Anyone can be nice in the beginning." And it's just... still not fun. I still want a slow burn with someone who I can get to know and trust and then find feelings... not someone for whom I've decided I'm going to have feelings... and then discover if they're trustworthy after when I've already become invested. I know pretty clearly what I want and what does and doesn't work for me, I'm way more cutthroat in when I call things off/honoring that, which I think is good... but... it shrinks the dating pool quite a lot... and... You know. There are still things I want.

I'd really like... to be able to smoke myself into a coma one weekend without being afraid of agonizing pain. But. It's. Fine.

[blightbear]

3, 5, 15, 40 for mori'na and solas <3

hiiii, thank you for asking!! <3

relationship asks

3. What is their love language?

I think quality time definitely, they both enjoy others company and just having someone to bounce their ideas off of. But also small looks and touches. A look across the main hall, a brush of the pinky for reassurance. They have a lot of small tells (they’re failing spectacularly at keeping their relationship mostly under wraps).

5. What is something they like to do together?

Sit in silence together but where they’re both doing their own thing. They’ll often sit in Mo’s chambers while she rifles through and fills out reports and he’ll either be reading or sketching in a book mostly of her. Sometimes they’ll make little quips like Mo being baffled by Orlesian customs or talk about their upcoming travels. Or Solas would help with Elven vocabulary and in turn Mori’na will provide him with a sign for some of the words. They just like being in one another’s company.

15. How do they comfort one another when the other is upset?

Mori’na usually keeps a distance, giving Solas space to reach out to her. Will usually leave those frilly cakes he loves on his desk or a salve she made that helps with sleeping and then with a little note. That usually gets him to open up a bit more and Mo offers a hug in comfort.

Solas…I would say it’s awkward for him at first, his company for thousands of years were spirits and they don’t have shifting emotions like the living do. He’s been learning though. He’s come to offer his council, yet he’s learned that she gets more angry if he offers ‘solutions’ so he rather just sits there listening and allowing her to vent. She’ll usually figure it out mid vent, but if not then he’ll ask if he can offer his opinion.

He’ll also draw her a hot both during a rather stressful day. Josie had slipped in a little tidbit during a reports conversation about Mo mentioning it at some point or another. She even slipped him a recipe for a bath salt concoction that includes scent information that she’s secretly been asking her. He’ll imbue some magic in the water to make it stay warm. Mo tries very hard to get him to stay but he’s the face of self control and leaves her be he’s really not she can see how red the tips of his ears get when she asks and the fluster in his voice

40. What is a song that reminds you of the OCs' relationship?

I have a multitude of songs for them several playlists with one of them being over 10hrs long so here’s a few recent ones that make me think of them (with a short explanation because I’ll take any chance to explain my reasoning lol)

Lovesick by Laufey

“When the gold rays fell on your skin / And my hair got caught in the wind / The choir sang a melancholic hymn”

This makes me think near the beginning of their romantic relationship, right after the Fade kiss, and the nostalgia surrounding it when they look back. It can be read from both perspectives, both of them going mad over it. A melancholic hymn because Solas knows it can’t last.

Love You Anyway by The Marias

“Maybe, I may never find the words to say / Wait another lifetime so that I could stay / I know that you've always been in love with me / But I know that you've also had to watch me leave”

Maybe in another life. That’s all.

Skeleton Key by Flower Face

“Did it break your heart / Or did you see it coming? / Led to the edge of the world with the sun in my eyes / When I'm back in that dream / And I'm running forever / I wake up with your hands on my lungs for the rest of my life”

They’ll never be rid of each other, both of them haunted, both of them with hands on their lungs never letting them forget that the love was there.

[goshdarnitjay]

Hello! I was just curious as to if you write every day? I know that you have a full time job and everything and things can be stressful for you but finishing such a long ass story like what you owe and updating everyday when u did kiss for Kate bishop fic is just crazy. I swear ao3 authors are just different breeds lol.

yes, I do write every day now, but I never used to. I started back in September 22, giving myself a daily goal. I then gave myself a monthly goal and then several secret goals to trick my ADHD and executive dysfunction into starting the writing process at all.

More detailed description under the cut!

This is my word output since September 22:

(Dark Yellow is Goal. Light Yellow is Actual Word Count)

December 22 to March 23 was not as productive for me, because I was on the verge of finishing What You Owe and I was getting burnt out on it after, like, 180k of working on the same thing.

I keep myself motivated by keeping an excel sheet where i track my progress:

Starting Point and End Point turn green when I reach 100 words, and Word-Count turns victory blue when I reach 201. I'll be keeping my monthly goal at 10k from now on, because that is a realistic number even for a really bad month. that way, if I ever fail to go beyond 10k, I won't be disappointed. But as you can see, the last few Months have been quite a bit better. I usually take off between 1 and 3 days in a month to recharge. Usually after I've had a really, really hard day at work, or when I want to spend a whole day with family.

These are my three secret monthly goals:

They go down as the monthly word count goes up. It's an easy =WordCountMonthCell-15000 or 20000 or 25000

I used to really, really struggle with writing every day. I usually only wrote when I was inspired, which happened once every couple weeks, maybe. Sometimes every couple of months. This excel sheet has helped tremendously.

Number Go Up = Serotonin Boost 👽💜💚

I encourage anyone who is struggling with achieving this to find something that works for them. A reward system that's easy to implement and easy to keep track of. Excel did it for me.

In terms of my full-time job: I struggle with motivation and energy after a 9-10hr shift (understandably). So during my last middle shift (where I started at 9:30am) I got up 1.5hrs to 2hrs ahead of when I needed to get up so I could write before work. That actually also helped so, so much, because I wasn't exhausted and I didn't have a headache.

Early shift is kind of the worst, though. I get up at 5:30AM, so I would probably have to get up at 4AM and... yeah IDK lol I don't think I'm gonna do that. I'd have to get to bed really early, too. My body requires at least 9hrs of sleep to function optimally... We'll see. Early shift is also the most exhausting, because the employees are there from the very beginning to the very end, and they're annoying and needy and demand so much attention.

Hope you enjoyed my very in detail explanation on how I manage to write every day! 👽🐔💜💚

[darlenealive]

Back from my Scandi vacation!

Felt like I took it for granted leaving my brain back in SG and letting Ax do the planning and the navigating. I brought my spirits though! Spending my day off today looking back at the trip which was such a great use of my time. Really appreciating this extra day off after my vacation.

Some tips for Norway and Denmark travels first

1. It's cashless even in the small towns. Cash was more of a liability as it forced us to spend it all

2. Hotels cost as much as Airbnb for 2 pax so opt for hotels as there's guaranteed shampoo, soap, hair dryer, heating and laundry. Most of our airbnbs were missing soap or shampoo which we didn't bring any of, in order to travel lighter. The bnbs we stayed in were also commercialised houses so there's absolutely no feelings attached. Checking in and out would also be more convenient with hotels. We had to return one of our keys from a convenience store which wasn't open in the early morning, in time for our flight.

3. Groceries are marked down on Friday if they expire Monday. If you're in Norway, go to Kiwi or Coop for basic groceries as it seemed to be the cheapest. However, each shop will hv their own discounts (not standardised across the same chain). Eg. We went to a place with 40% discounts on Freia choc which was only available at a particular store.

4. Northern lights chase was the coldest we experienced. Basically, the guide said that if its frost on the floor, it's worse than snow as there's no insulation for your feet. Not the coldest real temperature but coldest we felt. Bring extra clothes and heatpack just in case. The bonfire didn't do anything for me because it's too cold. We went with GuideGunnar which updates its aurora sightings on a daily basis. These guys are crazy and would bring you as far as Sweden just to chase the lights so bring your passports along! They also offer a 50% off the next trip if you don't see it on the day.

5. There's no heat packs there so bring them from home.

6. In Copenhagen, we recommend the Copenhagen card. It's only 65USD for 24hrs and you get free transport, museum pass and boat rides. We only decided to get the card after our boat ride which cost about SGD25-30, which was already a quarter the cost of the card. In Copenhagen, checking of bus tickets was a regular thing.

7. Useful apps for riding public transport: Oslo uses Ruter, Tromsø uses Troms billet, Copenhagen uses Dot tickets. Ticket checking was not very often in Norway. We did not cycle as it felt too cold for more wind to hit our faces.

8. Skip Oslo if you dw to visit a city. We spent 3 nights there and it felt too long. We wanted to do our last minute shopping at Oslo but everything was expensive throughout the whole trip that we started to buy souvenirs earlier when we saw marked down prices. With one more day in Tromsø, we could've gone whale watching.

9. Take into account daylight savings from 29/10. You have 1 more extra hour to sleep but your days are much shorter. We slept a lot because of the cold, about 10hrs of sleep each day and it felt just right.

10. Personally I would have brought instant noodles as the food there isn't flavoured with the same umami as I'm used to. I would also bring a thermal flask there to enjoy my hikes even more, taking a comfortable and warm rest at the peak.

11. If driving, please remember to pay for parking. There's usually a machine to start your parking. Otherwise, the fine is 660NOK. Don't let the rental company settle it as it'll still be billed to you with an extra fee. We would also recommend full insurance since we aren't used to left hand driving and Norway is famous for its narrow roads (at least from Stavanger to Odda where we drove).

12. We used waze for driving and it seemed that speed cameras are only in tunnels but nobody was following the speed limit anyway.

That's about all of the suggestions Ax and I thought of!

Hope these suggestions come in useful for someone.

[debb987]

Hello again!

I did this lil silly survey a long while ago :)

I wanted to ask if you would mind to answer a few of my questions again :3

If not, that's totally fine! No pressure!

How many hours do you sleep per night?

How many hours are enough to get through the day and how many are a lot for your standard?

Is caffein (in any form) part of your morning routine or your 'last resort'?

How do you feel over the day before and after consuming caffein (if you consume any)?

For example: sluggish, foggy, awake, exhausted, grumpy, just tired, etc.

Thank you a lot for (maybe) participating!

If you want, I can add you when I post the results, but I can also leave you out :)

le gasp is the survey person! Hi survey person, I really liked your post with the results from last time! >w< I think doing research like this is a very Tumblr-experience and I love it ahahaha!

I sleep from 6-8hrs everyday. The bare minimum would be 4-5 to get through the day (and even then I'd probably crash for a nap in the afternoon right after work)

I think anything over 10hrs is a LOT by my standards, specialy if it's uninterrupted deep sleep!

I don't like coffee, I drink it just ocasionally in winter when I crave something warm and I've had enough with hot chocolate.

How do I feel… the few times I've had it I've been kinda sluggish afterward, I guess?

Please do tag me when the results are out! n.n

[avpd-queer]

I feel bad that my former best friend is in a toxic relationship and can’t see it, is throwing away their friends of over a decade for her, but I also can’t stop remembering how, when I shared with them that I had just learned I had been cheated on and gaslighted about it for 6 years, their response was concern about my abuser’s mental health. That conversation didn’t affect their relationship with him in the slightest, they didn’t try to be there for me or show up for me to him, and when I they learned that I was going to get back with that person just a few days later, expecting them to be like, “uh no I don’t think that’s a good idea” (like everyone else had done and like I expected from them, having told them “just don’t let any of your friends date him” when I shared that I was leaving him, thinking they could help me figure out where to sleep and how to adjust), they didn’t protest at all. I was glad to avoid the awkwardness of, “thank you for your concern but I don’t have other options and idk I guess I’m gullible but also I just really want to believe it’ll get better” but also hurt that they didn’t seem concerned for my well-being. Hoping that they just didn’t voice that part because I’m an adult and can make decisions and already know what advice I would give myself. I just had to cling to believing that, and thinking maybe they don’t understand what gaslighting is and that’s why they didn’t seem to care, even as they became less and less my friend and eventually dropped both of us for trying to set a boundary with them about their girlfriend. And the only way they offer for me to be there for them through their relationship is to stuff down all of my needs and feelings, go along with every whim of their girlfriend, and accept that we will never get time with them without her ever again. They kept pretending like everything was okay and they totally understood, when we were face-to-face, and then they’d go home and suddenly we’re horrible and need to apologize to her for…being her friend? Trying to get more time with our best friend? Being honest with our best friend when they ask why we haven’t been able to get closer to their girlfriend? We were trying to be adult and trust in the strength of our friendship, but they fully gave in to their girlfriend’s temper tantrum over her misinterpretation of messages she logged into their discord to read, and they have just fully thrown us away. Ghosted us for pride and haven’t communicated with us in any form since. We had some extra pizza from a canceled event at my partner’s work that I left on their doorstep and had my sister text about, and they responded that they were out of the country, visiting her family. Normally we have two weekly dnd sessions and 1-2 weekly hangout sessions - the first week of dnd was canceled and after that, they just never showed up. This month of nothing is one of the few months we had left before they were going to move to where her family lives in the US, like 10hr drive from here, being fully isolated with her, without a support system, away from the support system they haven’t been away from in like 8 years (when I was in New York - my partner was here during those 2 years, they were roommates).

I’m just so hurt. They meant so much to me, I planned on having them in my life for the rest of it. I knew in the last relationship they were in they let us fall to the side some but she broke up with them and they realized how absorbed they’d been and promised to not let it happen again. Before meeting the current girlfriend, who they immediately got absorbed into. I don’t know what the fuck to do.

[boombambaby]

50000% the realest thing I’ve read on tumblr.

Real life talk and complaining below the cut; feel free to pass it up if you don’t wanna read about me, I don’t blame you.

This probably won’t stay up long.

I work for 9-1-1 now, and I got lucky enough to be on mornings, and we’ve hired enough (not that it’s not still a revolving door) that mandates aren’t as bad but when they happen unexpectedly it feels like you’re dying inside. What they explained is exactly how it works for my center, though you can do all 15s or have 2 15s and one 30 but I still can’t eat most of the time anyways.

2nds get the most mandates, they mandated over 20 people for all 4 zones the other day. In one day.

My first year we were on 12s and I worked overnight when you’d get the worst of the worst with everything, and I honestly don’t know how I didn’t get thrown into a psyche ward. I think I cried every night. And lack of sleep didn’t help and permanently changed my sleep schedule to the point that I now only manage a solid 4/5 hours each night unless I knock myself out with meds.

Schedule reform sounds like a fairytale, but man it would be welcome for this career. We’re trying to fight for maybe 10s like some police departments do, where it’d be 10hr days 4/3 and only mandated an extra 6 hours, but management keeps insisting if we go to that it’ll be OT pay after 40 hrs, instead of after 8 hrs in a day like it is now.

So anyways; it’s a trade off. Very rewarding yet harrowing career, where you can deliver a baby one minute and lead a wife through cpr for a husband you know isn’t gonna make it in the next. And the pay is the best I’ve had for any career so far. Not to mention the overtime worked from mandates gets you comp time, which can be as good as vacation days and with our contract, we can collect an additional 4 weeks of comp time a year. But the stress, no sleep, hours and tax on your wellbeing is draining so it’s all about taking the good with the bad imo.

To make matters worse, in most states we’re considered ‘secretaries’ instead of first responders even though we literally take the first call, speak to the victims and dispatch responders out. We also document police chases, were the ones coordinating pfas and are the first one to answer the dreaded ‘officer down! Officer down!’ calls over the radio and coordinate a response.

This means we don’t get benefits first responders do, including retirement and wage differentials amongst other things. My state is trying to pass the bill to classify us as first responders but there’s little hope it’ll make it.

Last thing I swear;

This is also why I’m so tired all the time and sometimes muse plummets. You try writing for boisterous, sassy Kuzco after talking someone off of a (metaphorical) cliff. RP is the escape I need from RL.

Fucking hell why are we making people in hospitals who are responsible for the health and wellbeing of everyone work 12 hour shifts with no breaks I feel like I'm going insane does no one else see the problem here??

[hav-vok]

bs: sleepy, after around 10hrs interrupted but deep sleep. soles of my feet felt like walking on nails. big toe joint hurts. hips hurt. feels like I've been punched in the ribs (L side). coathanger pain and stiffness. fingers randomly hurt. eyes are irritated and brain is fuzzy but not foggy. bruised inner r arm near elbow, don't know how. bruised r elbow, reaching behind safe. also mid back pain and ankle soreness.

I don't want to go to the gym today. I don't want to get buses. I felt so bad for a while that I had no independence here like I did in London, but even in London I rarely did any big trips by myself. and it was easier to be lost in the crowd. I often feel like I'm being watched here. like I don't blend in.

but I'm going to go to the range afterwards and get some cheap tracing paper to help me make up a physical portfolio. maybe a sketchbook if they're cheap. and a snack or two if they're gluten free. eaten way too much gluten the past few days and although it's not hurt my stomach like I thought it's not helped much either.

[hislove4eva24]

I literally cannot unwind or calm my mind ever… I finally got my son asleep after I have been awake and on my feet since 4am. Worked for 10hrs, came home made dinner, went through paperwork for my son. Ate dealt with my son misbehaving, fed him. Finally laid down with my fetus kicking my ass, get screamed by my mom for her not feeling well, get berated by my brother about my dog that he hates. Get my mom bitching at me bc my brother is mad that I haven’t heard anything back yet from the apartment I just applied for like it’s my fault. I’m exhausted, mentally and physically. Everyone is blaming me. My daughter having hlhs and not even born yet my fault. I just want to have an hour to myself to think, to unwind, to process my thoughts, emotions and feelings but I literally only get sleep to attempt that but that’s not even solitude bc the baby doesn’t let me sleep nor does my son. Talking about my feelings…..I’m not allowed.  having emotions I’m not allowed. Being in pain, uncomfortable from pregnancy I need to suck it up. Breaking down, not allowed. I don’t want to be strong anymore

[eurotrip-2023-july]

Prague (Day 2) - I finally got a good night of sleep. First one all trip (10hrs). Had to buy a fan last night because this hostel doesn’t have air conditioning or a fan in the room. We’ve got a window but there’s 0 airflow and also a giant spider right outside of it that we don’t want to get in. Anyways, I had warm air blowing into my body which was good enough for me.

At about noon, we went to a restaurant/cafe called SmetanaQ. We shared a breakfast and got a couple flat whites next to the river. As we are, we gameplanned the day and I was curious what I did 10 years ago while in league. So, I logged into tumblr and found the days I was here and Baileu and I were dying of laughter from how i haven’t changed at all. The first thing I wrote in the blog was that I hated the hot weather and was miserably hot in the hostel because it didn’t have air conditioning. 10 years later, I have been bitching and complaining about how hot it has been ever since we arrived in Europe. Also, I read that Trevor and I had gone to the Prague Beer Museum 10 years ago, and baileu and I just happened to stumble there last night for a couple of drinks without me even realizing I had been there before.

After brunch, we walked across Charles bridge and over to the Lenin wall before strolling through the streets of the east side of the river. Ended up wandering all the way to the top of the hill where the Eiffel Tower overlook viewpoint and decided to talk to the top of it. Got to see a beautiful view of the city from there. It was super crowded at the top, so we just walked down one flight of stairs and had the entire fire all to ourselves which was nice.

Then we walked down to the Prague castle where my memory was triggered and I recalled that I might have been there before. Pulled Ip tumble again and saw I had indeed taken photos of it 10 years ago. 😂

We got hungry and walked down the hill and back across the bridge to the old town square and posted up at an Italian restaurant where we had gnocchi, Bruschetta and a couple of aperol spritzes.

We then decided to check out the robotics bar where robot arms made drinks for people and then hit up the ice bar as well (again).

After that, we wandered around the city and checked out a couple more areas of Prague before heading to a nice cafe where there was a “secret garden” mosaic house cafe. After that, we want to u fleku which is the oldest pub in all of Prague. We ate a pork knuckle and had a few beers each. It was a super cool concept where there’s a man who Carrie’s around a tray of beers and marks a rally on your receipt for each one he gives you. That’s how they keep track of how many they serve you.

We tried to go to another bar that was a speakeasy type of thing but it was all full. So we ended up walking in the main square again and saw the glockenspiel go off finally. Very underwhelming as it was 10 years ago.

On the walk home, I decided it was a good idea for Bailey to try a shot of absinth. We both got one, which was a horrible idea because it was awful. We each took 2 sips and felt terrible so we left it and went back to the hostel. Bailey ended up getting sick from it and threw up 3-4 times in the hostel shower/sink/toilet.

[trad-masculine]

I figure I'd weigh in as I'm someone who explicitly likes long hours more than a 40hr work week, which I consider the worst possible schedule.

My current schedule, and my favorite schedule ever, is as follows.

25hr week - 9-2 is grind time. High-quality ununterrupted work time. 5 hours straight. Then it's lunch. After that, in once sense I consider the work day over.

60hr week? - What is work time anyways? I'm "on call" till 6... sometimes till 10. I'm a cofounder for a volunteer organization, which means evenings are when everyone else is most available. Usually that time is social, and it's waiting on other people's time. So I have all my irl tasks and todo list and work through it until someone needs something from me.

This means my minimum work week is 25hours, which I quite enjoy. More often than not I'm on for at least 2-3hrs per weekend day, so let's round to 30hrs. I far prefer tapping into weekends over extending on clock time over the weekday. Weekends aren't a good vacation, imo. But down time is important, so because weekends are good volunteer time, I often have some kind of weekday of sailing or some other mind-off-work leisure activity.

In a more direct accounting sense I'm doing 60hr weeks. As I'm not task switching out of work tasks until 6pm, that's 9hrs a day, usually 7 days a week, weekends can go longer or anything can go late, so if I do take a short day for sailing it's padded elsewhere.

This kind of 60hr week is very sustainable for me. I work from home and have a baby home gym, but I also go to my regular gym a few days a week. I fit in quality family time after 6, and all my life maintainance tasks between 2 & 6. (Or in the morning hours before 9.) I still have weekly date night, occasional leisure days. I can maintain my personal network, throw house parties and BBQs and visit as well. I have to have my shit together, I can't make bad time management decisions, but I can also handle coordinating a remodel of the downstairs without killing myself.

~70hr week? - If I instead went with a 60hr week with commute times, and it was 10hrs a day with one day off, and all the on clock time was scheduled as high quality time, that would be a very different scheduled sustainability wise. As described that 60hrs is more like actually a 70hr week, especially with like lunch and break times off the clock during office hours, and commute.

85hr week - My maximum maintainable schedule looks like the following. Start at 8. (Changes: breakfast is heat & eat, quick shower, no morning reading, day planning done quickly.) Break at 2. 3-7 also quality work time, intermixed with "meetings". That's now a 10 hour day. No day off, 70hr week. On call till 9 on weekdays, 80hr week. Add weekends 85hr week.

If I really have everything together, my schedule is tight, my habits effecient, home gym has everything I need, I'm healthy and everyone I rely on is onboard, so I don't have to do anything auxiliary (such as chores) 80-85hrs could be maintained for over a year. I'd be able to squeeze in monthly date nights for my girl, and a few other minimal standard of living like things. But it would be a team effort on the home front.

100 + 120hr weeks - I've done 100hr week sprints, and I have one 120hr week under my belt. 100hrs you loose stuff like taskwitching out from work during lunch. That's 7hours. You loose night time, that's 7+ hours. From 85 to 100. For 120 hrs you loose any semblance of a morning routine (this is fatal for long term mental health). You also loose any potential moments of down time. Brushing your teeth, you're also on your phone reviewing something at the very least. You also start to loose sleep, and literally every moment of your life has to be automated. You can't do anything that isn't work. WAKE WORK SLEEP, maybe remember to eat. There are 168 hours in a week, leaving 48 hrs for sleep which is 6hrs 50mins of sleep a night.

Moreover, and this is the key, you need a team wherever your work is to manage you, because you can't manage yourself with those hours. You can only do it with a constant feed of bite sized things to do, and a team to whom you can punt decision fatigue issues and tasks you don't click into right away.

40 hr weeks 🤬 - I hate 40 hour weeks, specifically because they are tiring, but not exhilarating. 60hr weeks feel fucking legendary, done right, you feel on top of the world, everything in your life has to be smooth, elegant, effecient and effective. You need to have your shit together, you need to be dialed in at work, and with family, and in your motivation and life goals. 40 hours can suck, massively. You come home burned out and tired, veg out in front of the TV, ignore problems in your life you can, and you never really get everything together. 60 hours doesn't allow for that kind of comatose state.

60hr week 😇 - Try a 60hr week. You don't have to work 60hrs, but schedule 60hours in your week to do things which require you at your best. Schedule all those things on your bucket list into your day. Live your best life. Want to learn ice skating? Put that on your ideal week schedule as part of your 60 hrs. Then make your life at home work, make it possible to do 60 hrs of your best every week. Solve the problems in your life, emotional, habitual, social, organizational, or even spiritual that hold you back.

Even if I were doing only a minimal 25 hours, I'd want my life life to be put together the way 60hrs feels. I'd just have a lot more items I've listed out in my life goals on my day to day, and not postponing them for after what I'm doing now is off the ground such that I can take a break.

Live the 60hrs you want to live, it is seriously worth it!

(Also, absolutely no one read into this any criticism of op, 60 hours drawing sounds absolutely brutal. My limit for artwork before it starts to really suck is like 2-3 hours. Can't imagine what 8+ hours doing fine motor skill work does to the body. But what hours are like for different people varies a lot. I'm an insane person who thrives in extreme situations. I can't handle "normal," a regular 9-5 is incompatible with me. I also take long breaks off from anything like work. Months to do what I want to do, like a major sailing trip or world travel. I like all my work to be in one place, and all my time off in one place. I look at time more like Seneca than like a corporate middle manager.

I hate wasting time, I love spending time on leisure. Deep thought. Peace. Philosophy. Learning. Self improvement. Dreaming. Romance. The stuff that matters to me. Working long when I do work means I live my best life. It would be impossible otherwise. So work only to live your best life. That's my advice.

What Does a 100 Hour Work Week in Animation Feel Like So I saw (and commented on) this post remarking on the working conditions on the new Spiderverse film which were less than stellar. I'm not surprised, I was literally talking to animator friends about how it seemed like it was a tough project even as the trailers were coming out. But I think we see news like this break all the time - ah a game got delayed. Don't worry. "Oh the dev team is working 90 hour weeks until it comes out". Red Dead Redemption infamously had a manager brag about 100 hour weeks. Some members of the team on Sonic the Hedgehog did 120 hour weeks to update the model to something with much less human-looking teeth. It's all very abstract. So I thought I might provide a little insight into how different workweeks feel for me. For context, I am an able-bodied high functioning person who is, by all accounts neurotypical, but who still struggles with overstimulation and needs a lot of therapy. If I feel this way, then imagine how someone disabled is faring under the same conditions, and consider how much of a barrier of entry this really is to the industry. Disclaimer: I'm going to be describing a not great work/life balance from a practical point of view. I work a lot. I try not to. I don't always get it right. Please don't think of what you're about to read as how you 'should' be working in the industry. Whenever possible, insist on your rights to rest and live a life outside work.

40hr week - What would be considered a standard workweek. Animation is a thinking heavy job, so I’m usually tired at the end of the week, but I do still have energy to see friends, do personal work, go for walks, work out. I would prefer a shorter week but it’s doable.

50hr week - Probably my personal average if we’re being honest. This is not always due to the animation job itself - for financial reasons, I usually have small sidejobs next to full-time employment and the hours add up. This week works alright so long as I plan them well. Mealpreps, using google calendars to make sure I'm carving out time for workouts, cleaning and a bit of rest.

60hr week - I have spent a lot of months this year pushing 60 hour weeks and let me tell you, I don't like it. I'm tired. Social life and personal projects go on the backburner. I'm less delighted, less inspired. I still work out, but less. Wrists begin to tingle, shoulders sometimes get more sore than I like. If I fail to mealprep I end up spending so much money on prepackaged lunches. I'm processing stress in my dreams, so I often wake up in the middle of the night and lie awake. Light brainfog starts kicking in. I'm more sensitive to things not going my way because I just don't have much energy left to problemsolve anything that isn't work.

70hr week - This is when I personally start considering a schedule to be 'crunch'. For some the number is higher and for some lower, but for me, a 70hr workweek starts to really fray me at the edges. I have time for work, the commute and sleep, and not much else. I try to get in workouts where I can, to avoid my RSI flaring up too badly. I am no longer seeing friends. I am no longer drawing for myself. I'm not reading books. Maybe I watch a youtube video over dinner. It's not a state I can (or should) sustain for very long. 80hr week - This is where I'm hitting my ceiling. I have done this on rare occassions. My personal max is 85 hours of work in a week, and the personal record of maintaining it was 4 weeks, and those weeks were a shitshow. Cannot recommend. Towards the end, my shoulder was on fire and I had recurring headaches. I was doing all of my stretches and still managing the gym, and somehow it was never enough to soothe the RSI symptoms I can otherwise usually manage. The should injury I got during that month still haunts me to this day.

And I cannot stress enough, I never made it to those famed 100 hour weeks. I honestly don't know how anyone manages anything above 60 for an extended period of time. I know people sleep under their desks to avoid commuting time cutting into work hours, but i just feel like the brainfog would render me incapable of making anything good or even passable.