Have you ever worked more than one job?

[justina]

Hey everyone!
So I’ve been working two jobs for about two years now but lately have been having trouble managing my time. Have you ever worked more than one job before? If yes what tips do you have on managing your time and getting enough sleep?

 

[Croconaw]

There was a time where I worked full time at Walmart and part time at Wendy’s. It only lasted two weeks. It was too tiring and I couldn’t do it. I was 18 years old at the time and those were my first two jobs. Walmart came first, and I held that job for about three years. I quit Wendy’s after two weeks because the people were immature and I wasn’t interested in the job. It was good money, but it wasn’t worth it. I was doing just fine working the one job at Walmart.

I will say this. If you’re working a full time job, your job takes up more time than you actually work. You have to get ready for work, drive to work, and drive back from work. That can take an additional hour or two depending on how long you take to get ready and how long your commute is. Even when you’re not at work, you’re thinking about going into work. You never have time for yourself. This is what sucks about regular jobs. Sometimes we need them to make money, but there are alternatives to regular jobs if that’s not your thing.

I wish I had tips on time management with jobs, but I really don’t.

 

[Soigne]

yep! i couldn't take it anymore. i talked to both my full time and part time job supervisors and they both said they were willing to work with one another schedule wise. then they didn't, so i once ended up working nearly three weeks straight without a day off. some days i would work from 9am-11pm.

physically and mentally i could not do it. i had no life. i woke up, went to work. got home, went to sleep. repeated the next day. that's the only way i could make it work, if you could even call it that.

 

[nightglow]

Yes. I've had two jobs. I've worked at 3 different locations at once before as well. I don't really have any tips to give. I just drank lots of green tea. Maybe be easier to pull off if you aren't doing Management positions.

 

[Midoriya]

Nope, and I hope I never have to to be honest. Really sounds like a bad time.

 

[justina]

There was a time where I worked full time at Walmart and part time at Wendy’s. It only lasted two weeks. It was too tiring and I couldn’t do it. I was 18 years old at the time and those were my first two jobs. Walmart came first, and I held that job for about three years. I quit Wendy’s after two weeks because the people were immature and I wasn’t interested in the job. It was good money, but it wasn’t worth it. I was doing just fine working the one job at Walmart.

I will say this. If you’re working a full time job, your job takes up more time than you actually work. You have to get ready for work, drive to work, and drive back from work. That can take an additional hour or two depending on how long you take to get ready and how long your commute is. Even when you’re not at work, you’re thinking about going into work. You never have time for yourself. This is what sucks about regular jobs. Sometimes we need them to make money, but there are alternatives to regular jobs if that’s not your thing.

I wish I had tips on time management with jobs, but I really don’t.

that’s pretty much how I feel, it’s not just work because it takes time to get ready etc and the traveling time.

yep! i couldn't take it anymore. i talked to both my full time and part time job supervisors and they both said they were willing to work with one another schedule wise. then they didn't, so i once ended up working nearly three weeks straight without a day off. some days i would work from 9am-11pm.

physically and mentally i could not do it. i had no life. i woke up, went to work. got home, went to sleep. repeated the next day. that's the only way i could make it work, if you could even call it that.

that’s kinda how it is for me now! I just realized that I haven’t had more than one day off in a row since March! How long did you keep both jobs before you decided to quit?

Yes. I've had two jobs. I've worked at 3 different locations at once before as well. I don't really have any tips to give. I just drank lots of green tea. Maybe be easier to pull off if you aren't doing Management positions.

Green tea is a nice idea I’ll have to try! I’m not in management at either one thank goodness.

 

[deana]

I worked 15-20 hours per week while being a full time university student. I know that's not the same same but I had a lot of similar time management issues. I wouldn't say I ever truly perfected my time management or anything but I did find some things that helped. Hopefully these don't sound too silly

When you are so busy all the time, you don't have a lot of flexibility in your schedule so you need to find all the little ways you can try to make your limited time work best for you. For me I am really not morning person so I switched to showering at night instead of in the morning because I prefer to wake up a little later. I also learned how much I prefer to do errands after school/work rather than doing them on my very rare days off. I like to keep my days off as empty as possible so I can try to actually rest.

For getting enough sleep it's really important to be disciplined about going to bed at a reasonable time. Of course that's super difficult but it's really the only way. If you are lucky enough to have a schedule that doesn't change all the time then having a set bedtime could be helpful. Sleep aids can be helpful sometimes.

The last sort of big thing that I learned was, knowing when to say no to more work sometimes. I would be one of those people who would always say yes to any additional shifts I could take but I really had to learn to stop that because I just couldn't handle it. Obviously this doesn't really apply to everyone, everyone's situation is different but it's just something I had to do for myself.

 

[mogyay]

i worked two jobs for a while, i worked 40 hours in my main employment and then i'd work weekends at another job i had, i feel like u want advice but i couldn't handle it at all lmao, my whole life was basically just meaningless until i quit my weekend job. fortunately i didn't need the other job, i mostly did it out of obligation. i guess i'd say if you're working so much learn to set like boundaries with your employers and take meaningful time off?

also i hated both jobs lmao, maybe if i liked them both it'd be different

 

[TheSillyPuppy]

I returned to a previous internship while studying full-time in university for one semester. My class schedule was around 40 hours/week, studying and completing assignments took up another 30-40 hours, and I worked 10-15 hours. I also took up some extracurriculars, which probably took up 5 hours at most. I made sure to communicate my academic obligations to my manager, and they were understanding of the rigour of my program. The context is different, though time management is key in both situations.

Block out time in a calendar (digitally or on paper). Hopefully, you know your work hours at both your gigs ahead of time. Mark off times when you have a shift, block off times for basic life activities (sleep, shower, eat), and finally fit in other activities (errands, social events, personal time, etc.) around your shifts, like time tetris. For sleep specifically, I had an absolute minimum sleep schedule (midnight to 7 AM) and a nice-to-have schedule (11 PM to 7 AM), though I normally stuck to the minimum since I prefer the predictability and routine.

Know your limits. I have a hard time saying no to commitments I had originally thought I would have capacity/energy for. Looking back, this semester was the one where I felt exhausted all the time and miserable. It didn't help at all that I had very little time to socialize.

Minimize the number of decisions you have to make each day. Making decisions take cognitive load, and you probably want to save that mental capacity for the things that really matter. For example, something I did was keep a spreadsheet of recipes I enjoyed, deciding on what food I was in the mood for, then getting groceries and doing bulk meal prep on the weekend. I also laid out my clothes for the next day before I went to bed.

 

[sleepydreepy]

I just started my first serious job after graduating college and currently work from 8am-5pm right now 5 days a week and its kind of suffocating. I took a lot of classes in college but I often had windows of 1-2 hour breaks during the day where I could go home or to the library and relax and/or do homework. Having to stay at work for 9 hours straight is really hard for me, I don't know if I have ADHD or something but I am kind of struggling with it. Maybe its something I have to get use to, or maybe I should find a more engaging job in a few months (I mainly sit at a computer all day) that requires more hands on/physical work or something.

 

[LadyDestani]

Yes, I worked two jobs for a while after moving out on my own. I had a really good, well-paying job at the post office that I liked, but they announced that my branch was closing. They gave us enough warning to look for other jobs but asked anyone who could to stay on to the closing date to do so. I could use the extra money and the job wasn't very demanding, so even after starting another full time job I continued to work both jobs for about 6 months.

It was tiring, but I felt like it was worth it at the time because it helped set me up financially. My saving grace was knowing that it was only temporary and I knew exactly when it would end so I could look forward to that day.

I obviously don't know your situation specifically, but I think a lot of the advice given so far has been great. Make sure you have a schedule that includes time to do things for yourself and try to stick to it. I also love the suggestion from @TheSillyPuppy to minimize your decisions. Sometimes you don't realize how long you sit around doing nothing while thinking about what to eat, what to wear, what to watch. You can maximize your time by multi-tasking and making those decisions while you're doing other things that don't require your full attention.

Most importantly, be kind to yourself. Don't let your needs fall through the cracks. Everyone needs some downtime. And if you can't make it work, maybe reassess how much you need the second job or if a different job would meet your needs better.

 

[Dunquixote]

Kinda. Back in high school I had a newspaper route and worked as a merchandiser. My dad helped me with the newspaper route.We ended up quitting (both my sister and I) after the guy who we picked up the papers from passed away.

 

[_Donut_]

Besides my main job, I worked as a teacher for about 3 years after graduation (kinda ironic that I found standing in front of people and public speaking horrible & terrifying, yet ended up teaching classes. Most of them filled with old CEO people probably thinking why some kiddo 22 year old is telling them what to do, lol).

When my main job became more demanding, I finally decided to quit teaching. I was always so exhausted because I would do the teaching on my days off from the main job leaving me with barely any actual "free days" in a week plus I always had to drive 2+ hours in traffic jams to get there... I appreciated the time and it definately gave me a lot of experience but I'm really happy I decided to quit.

 

[slzzpz]

Yeah, had two part time jobs and went to school full time.



Sucked.

 

[justina]

Thank you to everyone who responded
I have concluded that working 2 jobs for a long amount of time doesn’t seem to be sustainable! The money is nice at times but time is priceless and something you will never get back.

I returned to a previous internship while studying full-time in university for one semester. My class schedule was around 40 hours/week, studying and completing assignments took up another 30-40 hours, and I worked 10-15 hours. I also took up some extracurriculars, which probably took up 5 hours at most. I made sure to communicate my academic obligations to my manager, and they were understanding of the rigour of my program. The context is different, though time management is key in both situations.

Block out time in a calendar (digitally or on paper). Hopefully, you know your work hours at both your gigs ahead of time. Mark off times when you have a shift, block off times for basic life activities (sleep, shower, eat), and finally fit in other activities (errands, social events, personal time, etc.) around your shifts, like time tetris. For sleep specifically, I had an absolute minimum sleep schedule (midnight to 7 AM) and a nice-to-have schedule (11 PM to 7 AM), though I normally stuck to the minimum since I prefer the predictability and routine.

Know your limits. I have a hard time saying no to commitments I had originally thought I would have capacity/energy for. Looking back, this semester was the one where I felt exhausted all the time and miserable. It didn't help at all that I had very little time to socialize.

Minimize the number of decisions you have to make each day. Making decisions take cognitive load, and you probably want to save that mental capacity for the things that really matter. For example, something I did was keep a spreadsheet of recipes I enjoyed, deciding on what food I was in the mood for, then getting groceries and doing bulk meal prep on the weekend. I also laid out my clothes for the next day before I went to bed.

Thank you so much for these tips!! I had never really thought about limiting my decisions but something as simple as picking out my clothes for the next day and packing my lunch at night for the next day really helps! I also have problems saying no especially when my second job calls and asks if I want to work on a night or day I have off. I have to learn to say no because everyone is replaceable at these jobs and they don’t care for you as much as one would think.

 

[Lyrica]

I am always between two or three jobs. Right now, I am teaching and working for the public health system as I am trying to run my own business.

 

[tomatospooks666]

i never had a real job before, full stop. i'll probably try to get one once i finish getting my highschool diploma.

 

[Kaitlin]

Yes I currently work 2 part-time jobs. What I did was dedicate once job by working 20 hours a week for the one Monday through Friday, and my other job I am currently working from 9:30-3 on the weekends. I work 7 days a week. I highly suggest splitting the hours to 20 hours each during the week if it is possible. It is really important to have that time off, so you can also enjoy your life when not working.

 

[Mairmalade]

I was working three jobs until recently when I realized work was taking up most of my life and one of the additional jobs wasn't one I enjoyed (it was similar work to my main job, and both were mentally exhausting). I had ended up dreading every other day because I immediately went from my main job (50 hours per week, post-secondary registrar/admissions) to my second job (20 hours per week, international recruitment/coordination) to my third job (10 hours per week, tutor) and felt I had little time or motivation to do much else besides work. When I wasn't working, I would think about work and work outside of scheduled hours. I'm now back down to two with the second having flexible hours.

Having multiple jobs can be sustainable (and enjoyable), but it depends on your lifestyle and the work you do. A few things to keep in mind:

Be upfront, ask for help when you need it, and take people up on the help they offer: sometimes we feel overwhelmed and there's nothing wrong with asking for a personal day or relying on someone when you need it (whether it's your supervisor, boss, family member, or friend). If you live with someone else, maybe they could have some of the chores done or have started dinner - one less thing for you to worry about when you get home tired.

Take a break: I'm guilty of not taking breaks during work because I'm "too busy," but I realized I lost out on an hour of valuable time each day that I could have used for something I wanted to do. If the weather was nice, I went for a walk or read a book. Anything away from the day-to-day. Additionally, always have one day per week that's yours where you don't have to go to work.

Ask yourself if it's worth it: you mentioned you had this second job for two years but you're now starting to feel a bigger burn from it. What changed? If you enjoy the work you do at both jobs, learn things, and are friends with the people there, it may be worth looking at ways to sustain both. Whether that's making slight changes to the workdays themselves, or life outside of it. If you like them and it's solely for extra money, what is that money going towards? Do you need the extra income to comfortably support yourself and work towards whatever else it may be? It may also be a matter of changing what your second job or source of income is.

Schedule your time: try not to overwork yourself - avoid working hours beyond what you've/your job has allotted.

 

[Bobbo]

I worked a full and a part time job at the same time.

The money is nice, but you end up too tired to spend it. Also, any attempt to have a personal life with friends or dating someone it pretty much out the window.