How a Later Start Time Improved My Life
As a morning person, I always thought the earlier I got to work the better
I graduated with a job and a plan, or I was supposed to graduate with a job, and I had a plan for when that happened. Unforeseen circumstances acknowledged, I graduated, moved back home, and proceeded to be unemployed for over a year – patiently waiting for a start date that wouldn’t come until the end of 2021.
My plan, however, was to move to the city and commute with the rising sun, working 6:00-2:00 or 7:00–3:00, with long evenings to do whatever I wanted. It was one of the main perks of the job, flexible hours. I couldn’t wait to have quiet, productive mornings in a mostly empty office and leave long before everyone else, beating commuter traffic at both times. Early wake-ups have always come naturally to me, and here was an opportunity to take advantage of that.
Instead of being a year into a government job in late June of 2021, I started a retail job with a set schedule of 10:00–5:00 Tuesday-Thursday, and alternating weekends. After a year of being at home, I wasn’t looking forward to working until 5:00. In university, I’d always preferred the early morning shifts, and as a co-op student, I’d never worked later than 4:00. When I graduated, I celebrated the fact that I’d never have to work weekends…
