Sleep Issues

[tamakun]

It's been a very exhausting but satisfying week of handling the store by my lonesome. There has been a lot of little things that needed attending-to, and that included finding a new can opener when the old one broke (yeah, not exactly "big news" :P), "reducing Shrinkage" (standard procedures), "rescheduling employees" and "replacing the internet modem" (biggest issue so far, we had no Debit/Credit card processing, or phones all weekend - thankfully everyone seemed to be understanding and we still did a decent weekend with Cash-Only).

The store manager comes back on Thursday, so tomorrow I plan on cleaning up the desk and leaving out what's important, but at the same time, I don't want to burden her with any extraneous details leading up to Thanksgiving. It's all-hands-on-deck for this weekend and the last thing she needs after coming back from her vacation is lots of little annoying things as a welcome-back. :P

I've been sleeping oddly recently, though. I've found that I'll wake up around 3:00 or 4:30 (I know since I keep checking my DS-alarm), and I'll have problems getting back to sleep. I get to bed at a decent hour, so it's not that I'm waking up early, I'm still tired but I start tossing and turning. I'm not sure what's brought this on in the past few weeks, but last night was due to me discovering a whole slew of problems that I found through logging-in to the work computers at home, just prior to getting to bed. It may have to do with the fact that my schedule is very day-to-day so some mornings I have to be up at 6, other days I can sleep in until 10...

I really shouldn't bring my work home (and thankfully, I avoided that today) but obviously it's kinda dominating my waking hours. Might be taking over my sleep, too, but since I never remember dreams - I'm guessing, since I wake up at 3 or 4:30, I'm thinking I'm falling out of REM sleep. I don't want to take sleeping pills to force myself to sleep through the night, but I might have to from time to time if I want to have a uninterrupted rest. Any thoughts on this?

Comments

[bassbeast.livejournal.com]

Set a deadline after which you will not address anything work-related at all. For me, I set a 12-hour "available" window, five days per week. If you want to talk to me about work-related issues, it's 10-10, M-F. I'll reply to someone on a weekend if it's about they wanting to give me money or new business. Otherwise, it's family time.

The hardest part of running a show is maintaining your sanity simultaneously. I must admit, I'm up early simply because I'm thinking about all manner of things I want to do, but it's definitely gotten a lot better since I learned to turn off by a certain hour.

And honestly, is seeing shit hit the fan right before bed give you the ability to do anything about it until the next day? Better to relax, deal with it in its own time and not go cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.

[tamakun.livejournal.com]

Great idea, Dave, thank you :) This week was an exception to the rule of "five days a week" since I was the only one around, but it's a great rule to follow in general. Let the other manager handle the business while I'm on my days off, what a novel plan ;)

[ravenworks.livejournal.com]

Are you sure it isn't something in your environment? A neighbour flushing the toilet, or starting a car...

[tamakun.livejournal.com]

I've always wondered if it was something like that. Trucks driving over the bridge make this strange noise like they're going into neutral and revving the engine, and since it's been at a consistent time, it may have been something like that, but I haven't been able to hear it when I'm awoken.

Mind you, the walls here are damn thin. I can always hear the elevators moving, and even right now I can hear the neighbours talking...

[ravenworks.livejournal.com]

Might want to try earplugs! I've been meaning to, but never got around to it...

[bassbeast.livejournal.com]

White noise generator. Works every time.

Don't do it!

[(Anonymous)]

DO NOT take sleeping pills-will only mess up your sleep further. Do some relaxation before bed, whether it's a cup of tea and reading or listening to music. White noise is a GREAT idea!! Unfortunately routine is the best option, and one that you don't really have...Seanna :)