The traditional workday and workweek are just that: traditions. If you aren’t into regular hours, don’t let tradition keep you from doing your best work. Here are some tips for getting things done at odd hours.
How to Manage Unconventional Hours
Make Sure It Works for Everyone
What is a 9 to 5? This traditional workday has been the norm for decades, but why does it work? For most people, this schedule provides a good balance between working hours and free time, but not for everyone. Working odd hours might be just what you need if you’re a night owl or just not a morning person, but you aren’t always the only one you need to consider when working. If you work for a company, make sure your supervisor is okay with your plan to work non-traditional hours. Sometimes, deliverables, deadlines, differences in timezones, and even system availability mean we can’t work at all hours of the night. If you work in an office, make sure the logistics are in place for you to work at the hours you want. Many offices and office parks don’t have 24/7 access for safety reasons or due to daily cleaning, so make sure you can work whenever you want before you commit to it.
If you have a significant other or children, make sure your schedule gives you the time you need to be with them. Night shifts might be great at first, but when your sleep schedule adjusts, you may be sleeping through the day and missing out on quality time with your loved ones. If you’re working remotely or in a coworking space, think about the availability of resources. Even your home internet may have infrequent outages for maintenance or scheduled router updates, so it’s important to consider how these things can impact your work.
Find Your Workspace
Remote work means you can work from anywhere, but sometimes, odd hours can make working from home tricky. Even if you do quiet work, it can be disruptive to others in your home, impacting their routine and even their sleep. If you have a dedicated home office, that might not be an issue, but other scenarios can cause problems. How do you deal with an irregular work schedule? Finding resources that are available to people working outside of traditional hours can be challenging in some places, but not in Music City.
If you’re in Nashville, you have a coworking space that will work for you and everyone else, no matter what time you need to get things done. Center 615 is open 24/7 to our coworking clients with designated desks and office suite members, complete with internet access and free coffee and tea.
Set a Schedule
Is 9-5 a good work schedule? Traditionally speaking, yes. This time schedule works for a lot of people, and the eight-hour workday has proven to be productive for most. There are, of course, outliers who don’t work well on this schedule because everyone is different. No matter who you are, however, having some kind of schedule helps. Planning out your week gives you structure—something most people need, even if it isn’t the normal layout of a day. Non-linear work days are increasingly common, with people working for several hours, taking a longer break, and then resuming work later in the day. This breakup of the traditional routine makes time for appointments and other life commitments that you might have trouble scheduling around a traditional 9 to 5. Even if you don’t care about working the same hours each day, setting a schedule to follow is helpful for you and the work you do. Maybe on Monday, you want to work 10 AM to 6 PM, then 11 PM to 7 AM on Tuesday, and so on. As long as you sketch out your work week, that structure can work and help you stay on track.
Balance Work and Life
Working odd hours (and especially taking irregular breaks and working late at night) can impact your work-life balance. But if you have found that a traditional workday didn’t suit your work-life balance, here’s how to not work a 9 to 5 and still have a personal life.
The best way to work odd hours and still separate work from life is to head into a coworking space. Not everyone enjoys working from home, and even if you did at one point, the unclear division between work and home might be wearing on you. A coworking space gives you a dedicated workspace and routine that gets you out of the house. For some people, this is all it takes to unblur the lines between work and home life. As mentioned above, working late at night can change your sleep schedule. Some people find this works for them, and others struggle with the adjustment. In a city like Nashville, you can find plenty of things to do at all hours of the night, so you can still have a social life and experience things each day. It’s important to get the proper amount of sleep each day. Healthy sleep practices promote better mental health and greater productivity, so don’t let your irregular hours hurt your sleep hygiene.
Get More Support
Some people don’t have a choice of when they can work. If you prefer the traditional 9 to 5 job but work nights or work with people in another time zone across the ocean regularly, you might need to work odd hours. Many websites and employers provide tools that can help you plan your irregular workday to ensure that you’re still doing work in a healthy and productive way. At Center 615, we are well-versed in the non-traditional workday, and we’re here to support you. The amenities we offer, like 24/7 keycard access and free on-site parking, help to make any schedule simple and effective.
Work Whenever at C615
The 9 to 5 is a tradition because it works for so many people, but not everyone loves this particular tradition. If you’re ready to cowork with Center 615 on your own terms and make your own hours, reach out today for a free tour to see what we’re all about.
