16 hours of work: original shift

I've been up for 24 hourse last Wednesday because I had to extend work at the office until 2PM the following day. Shoot! I've worked for 16 hours straight. That's double shift minus 'lunch' breaks. My breaks were short and intermitent because I was chasing submission deadlines, which are the following (in random):

• 1 regional journal
• 1 regional daily report
• 3 sets of SMS news briefs, each with assessment and analysis
• 1 general email news brief
• 1 regional email news brief
• Luzon and Visayas weekly risk assessment report

Taking 'lunch' breaks on my new shift is not my thing. I just go working. Breaks, as mentioned, are short and intermittent. But my July 20/21 shift was a a witch. I was alone that night having had to handle all the deliverables. I wasn't complaining except for the stress that's been stressing me out. I wrote about such moment on my previous blog entry. Because it was too much.

To describe the witch that my shift has been, I was feeling light-headed and just very uncomfortable. It's like having a restless leg syndrome but involving the entire body. It was either I had to take a jog or a nap to get rid of the feeling. The former's unlikely because that would take some time out from work and it felt like my body could hardly handly any external force, either from the inside or out.

So taking a nap seemed to be the logical option. As mentioned in A Little Break for the Brain, I've learned to take breaks. Perhaps because I just couldn't do anything else but yield.

Unfortunately, this happened:

Awesome, right? Never thought my INTP/J-ness would be extended in my nap. It was annoying. But I think I still had enough 'power nap' albeit very short and intermittent. Perhaps my physical body just needed a break regardless how short. Perhaps elevating my lower extremeties also helped. Seems like my head just needed some oxygenated blood.

After deciding that I just had to go back working after getting "traumatized" by my subconscious, things seemed to have gone smooth. And I was working on assessment and analysis on at least 3 things. None came back for revision. Thank God!

I only missed the last two deliverables on the above-list when my original shift was over. I decided to ditch the regional news brief because I had to get started with the Luzon-Visayas thing. I also knew that I couldn't go back full blast if I don't take a break so I was "cooling down" before "warming up" again.

For all that happened overnight, I'm glad to have made it out alive.

Now Playing: Susie Suh - In the Moonlight