New morning/work routine

Since I probably lost all my readers yesterday upon finding out I'm not patriotic (it's true - I own NO clothes made out of a flag), I thought I would write about my new morning routine. Granted, it's only a part-time job, but it has changed things up a bit for me.

For most of my life I've taken my time easing into each day. I would normally get out of bed 2 hours before needing to leave. This allowed me to leisurely read the news, check messages and things, have a couple cups of coffee and breakfast, and then get ready for work. I have enjoyed this pace, but part of the reason I applied for my current job was an attempt to force a change.

I now work 5-9 am at least 3 days a week, plus any other shifts I can pick up. The facility is open from 5 am - 8 pm, so I am the "opener." It's only 10-15 minutes from our house (4 miles), but I park 4 blocks away because I'm too cheap to pay for parking (it would be 50 cents a day!), plus I think I'm supposed to be there and have everything set up by 5 am. So I leave the house at 4:30, drive to a nearby Y to park, and then walk through downtown FW in the dark to where I work.

So my new morning routine is: Wake up at 4 am, turn on the coffee pot, have a protein shake (or something), glass of water, go potty, run some water over my head and face, get dressed, feed the cat, grab a coffee and snack to go, and head out the door around 4:30. The 4-block walk takes me about 5 minutes, so I usually arrive at work around 4:45-4:50 am.

It's actually nice driving through town at that time. While there is more traffic than I expected, it is way better than later in the day, and I have several traffic lights that are flashing yellow. It's also a nice time to walk from where I park to where I work. It's all fairly well lit so I'm not really worried about running into any dangerous souls, plus that's one advantage of getting to know some of the people who roam the streets of the city. I actually kind of like walking downtown when it's dark and there isn't any traffic. It's very serene.

When I arrive at work I not only have to unlock the doors to my facility, but also to the building it is in. So I unlock the front doors and the doors from the parking garage, then unlock my facility, turn on the lights, start the computer and coffee maker, get the tv monitor set, walk through the facility and locker rooms, and various other opening duties (count the cash drawer, put out the sign, start and sign into the programs I need, unlock a couple other doors).

My hope is this new routine will get my metabolism working a little earlier. I try to stand the 4 hours at work instead of sit, and if I have time before people start coming in I have been doing some lifting and stretching. Usually people are coming in right at 5 am though. Once that happens it's pretty much just making sure people check in and keeping an eye on the coffee and towels. I may have to answer a few questions here and there, but there's not a lot required for this early morning shift. I like it like that.

It's a little different when I work the 9 am - 1 pm shift, which I will be doing a couple days a week for this month at least. One of the new hires at the same time as me has found a full-time job, so I'm covering quite a few of her shifts this month.

One thing I was a little worried about when I got this job was the dress code. I've never had to "dress up" for any job I've had from age 16-54, and I didn't really want to start now. I was a little bummed when I found out we couldn't wear jeans. However, we ARE able to wear gym shorts and sweat pants, so that's way better than jeans as far as I'm concerned! We do have to wear a Y polo, which I'm used to from the storage place, and so far I've been wearing shorts or sweats every day, plus tennis shoes. Perfect!

So, that's where I'm at work-wise. I still don't feel like I know much - because not much goes on when I'm there and at this branch - but I think I will like it. At some point I would like to start doing some wellness coaching, and maybe even get certified to teach some classes. There are some stretching classes, yoga, meditation, cycling, and a queenax apparatus. I don't know about the yoga and cycling, but I think I could do the rest. We will see.