Cleanup today. Weekend slipping away.

[cjsmith]

I have lots and lots to do around the house today.

Every weekend, I start out with loads of energy, excited about how much I can get done in the two short days I have before I have to go back to work. Yesterday was no exception to this. I crossed a lot of things off my list yesterday. Dishes, laundry, sweeping up, a new ISP for my domain, a bottle of wine ordered from the winery on behalf of my mom, a Craigslist "free" post, new license plates finally attached to the car... stuff.

Now it's Sunday morning, and reality is sinking in. The list is too long for the time remaining. It always is. I'm no longer excited. Now I'm just working against a deadline.

I hate that my life is always right on the edge of being completely out of control because a full-time job takes so much time and energy. When I come home in the evening, I read a book, because that's all I'm good for. The weekends are gold. That's when I can really make a difference.

Lots to do before bedtime, and no staying up late either. Wish me luck.

Comments

[platypus]

Thanks for telling me about your experiences -- I'm really going to consider it. It doesn't have to be a permanent alteration; in fact, our library's policy on alternative work schedules is that they're approved on an annual basis, depending on the needs of the department. Since my new department doesn't have to staff a public service desk, it's much more flexible with things like this. My new boss's comment came in the form of "I'd prefer you to work a five-day week for now, while you're being trained," but that strongly implies that switching would be possible once I'm settled in.

I've been working a staggered week, Sunday-Thursday, for all six years I've been at the library. I've very much liked having a weekday off, for all the reasons you've mentioned (ironically, though, no dentist in San Diego works on Fridays, so it didn't help with my dental stuff). It's also been a bit rough having only one day a week off with Ken, but at the same time I really like having a day off on my own. I've always thought a permanent three-day weekend would be an excellent solution.

Working a ten-hour day would also require me to get up very early and get myself to work, though; I'd like to still end my workday at the same time as Ken so we could have dinner together. Our mornings rarely involve much interaction, but I'd have to go to bed earlier and part of the appeal of the new job is that it doesn't have stringent hours. Of course, if I start sleeping in and going to work at 10am and needing to work until 6:30 or 7pm, I'm just going to be unhappy about that as well. And Ken, I suspect, doesn't much care either way as long as I don't ask him to get up at some ungodly hour.

If I try the new schedule and like it, it might be a nice carrot for them to use to keep me in the position. I doubt I could get such an arrangement if I went for the Reserves Supervisor position next summer.