Ok so my new job is one of the first “desk jobs” that I have had in a long time. Before this I have worked mainly with my hands (I was a theatre scenic carpenter and did some props work as well) and I have paperwork to do but I just can’t seem to get the energy to do it.
I get to work early and I am very productive all morning long, but once the afternoon hits, I get so tired and have absolutely no initiative to do anything at all.
I can haul around full sheets of plywood or rig truss for 8 hours no problem, but sit me down and I have the attention span of a five year old with a sugar high.
I think I need to get up and go for a coffee run, cuz, well I just need to get away from this computer.
But seriously, how do all you people with desk jobs handle it???
Maybe it is just worse because I am used to working around people and I am all alone in my office.
It’s ok I will just get a coffee, listen to my little radio, and watch my electronic fish and all will be well, oh I suppose I should do that paperwork too… Crap.
Holy crap, I am having these exact same issues. Tired all day and then I just go home and sleep. Today, I’ve managed to hang in there with about 10 cups of coffee, SDMB, Fox News and random people coming in and out. Today was exceptionally worse because I had to come in at 5:50am and I didn’t get to eat yet today. Well, I had a muffin around lunch time and I’ve been eating coffee, but I didn’t get breakfast or lunch today. Grrrrr… I’m pretty hungry right now.
Tunes. My life improved immeasurably when I started listening to my CDs at my desk. I see you have a radio, that wouldn’t suit me, it’s got to be GOOD music!
Routine. Schedule something enjoyable at, say, 3:00 every day. It breaks up the afternoon.
Fresh air and exercise. Get a bit. Make your 3:00 activity a walk outside.
I don’t know. I have been doing it for 8 years and I still almost passed out asleep in a meeting last week. I was pinching myself as hard as I could on the leg and even left a bruise and it was all I could do to keep my eyes from fluttering and then rolling back into my head. I had plenty of sleep the night before. It just happens.
The key is to envision yourself like a POW and try to build mental and physical endurance while it appears that you are all nice and steady on the outside.
Once you get good at your job, you will likely find that you have extra time on your hands. I have had three days of extra time this week. The problem comes when companies don’t want you to appear to be screwing off. That is tough when even paper is filed and every paper clip in its exact place.
But I think I’ll be getting off for the day soon. And there’s some kind of dinner function tonight so food’s on them tonight. But that just prolongs the time before I go back home and pass out in front of the tv.
Good part is it’s actually a pretty nice TV and I got a good deal on.
… Actually wait, no. I hate that tv. It’s a 16:9 tv. But nothing is set to send a 16:9 signal. Even my widescreen dvds just get EXTRA stretched out in the middle and still cut off the top and bottom… stupid TV. I new I should’ve got a standard shaped tv.
Now people are wondering why I just burst out laughing!
Last time I wore a thong it was because I really needed to do laundry and it was all I had left. It took me until 11:00am to realize I had it on sideways :smack:
Did you put it on correctly or go without underwear for the rest of the day? Either one would kept me awake. The thong because of the wedgie. No underwear because I would be self-conscious.
Sounds like you already have the answer to your question – a sideways thong will do it every time.
In all seriousness, what’s your sleep like? I’ve had desk jobs for years and years, but I know that my afternoon crashes tend to come following nights when I’ve not slept well. Only recently, I learned I actually have a sleep disorder, and since taking steps to correct that, I rarely* have afternoon crashes anymore, no matter how busy or not busy I am.
*Today is an unfortunate exception to that. <yawn>
Ah. In that case I suggest you wear a thong sideways on a regular basis. You may also look into other uncomfortable clothing: shoes that are to tight, brightly colored socks, or this
I dunno, I’ve always had a talent for doing jobs which would put most people to sleep or drive them insane with the tedium.
I work in a museum, and part of my job is cleaning the artifacts. I once worked on an item which took me four months to complete. It was the brass headlight for an antique car, and I sat every day with a piece of cotton soaked in oil and rubbed on it for hours. If I was lucky, I could get about an inch-square area cleaned in a day.
It earned me the nickname “Buffy the Tarnish Slayer”, and the awe of all who worked with me. “How can you do it? I’d go nuts if I had to do that all day long!”
I can’t say. I really enjoy detail work. It gives me time to think. I write books and stories in my head, which keeps me entertained.
See I can do stuff like that, well maybe not just like that. One of my favorite work projects was to make a fake leg of mutton. I spent hours carving it and painting it to look fresh off the fire and it was great. Not quite on the months on one project line but in theatre it is the closest I could get. And well I have spent a day happily sorting screws, so the mundane is not a problem.
I think my problem is that I have gone so long doing work that I can see the results of. I could look back at the end of the day and see what I had accomplished. I just don’t get that from behind a desk.
Lets see for lunch I had a chicken panini with a fruit salad, so well at least today my slump isn’t food related.
And sleep wise, well I never seem to get enough of it, even if it is 8 hours. It just never seems like enough.
I am coming off an insanely crazy time at work where I was doing two jobs, (well I still am but it is the slow week now) and my body did crash during that. I think I am on recovery mode now.
