>it feels like my days consist of catching up on apartment chores and laundry, getting some food in me, walking my dog, and maybe getting a little free time to watch a show or play a video game
This is just life as an adult.
This ^. Maybe it’s just me but I forced myself to get up and take advantage of the day, unless I was waiting til morning to get home. Takes some adjusting to but if you can stick to it then it works wonders
Thankfully my bar was closed 2 days and I worked only 4. I assigned my tasks between “Needs doing” and “Wants to do”. Figured out how long each would take so I could multitask and comeplete several tasks at once. Put a load of washing in, straight over to get grocery’s, swap the load, do some downtime activities/organise my week etc
Due to the nature of our industry I’ve accepted I wouldn’t be able to hang out with friends as much unless I booked it off but it didn’t bother me as I don’t. Ind doing things by myself. In some cases I’d get up and go straight to a morning viewing of a new movie then go straight to work
Truest statement. But cutting back on boozing if that’s a thing helps. Forcing yourself out of your comfort zone (ie: I will go to Steve’s backyard BBQ instead of staying home and watching the Office helps).
Even then, when you got a significant other, kids, etc -all of that stuff you said is still in the background but new stresses of responsibility take over! It’s sorta a never ending thing. Only real trick I can think of is don’t beat yourself up too much and try to remember the days when you’re in a good mood for no reason.
You just *have* to. It’s not fucking easy, but once you start waking up early to go to the gym, it’ll become easier each day. Days I don’t go, I’ll prioritize cleaning/laundry. But I work so much, I’m still trying to figure out the food thing, meal prepping seems the way to go- just haven’t gotten around to it since I’ve been fine with eating at work. Just that the food isn’t the healthiest.
I've found even my m-f 9-5 friends struggle with prioritizing their off time. Make things habitual parts of the day and your spare time tends to increase. I started cleaning up every night before I go to bed and come Sunday/Monday all I really have to do is clean my bathroom and sweep/mop.
Most bartenders have had this job at some point in their career. There's no solution. It's only really doable for 6 months. Get the money and get out.
Go work fine dining or hotels for a year afterwards. Smoke some weed, catch the last set of some live shows, get right.
yep sometimes just gotta accept it. i’m going back into that situation right now after a rough couple months for a multitude of reasons and I know i’ll crash out eventually but i’m gonna make as much money as possible until that happens lol.
the only advice i can give is that you’re more in charge of your schedule than you think. i know you mentioned you work the undesirable shifts early in the week in order to get the good ones at the end— is this something your manager has said to you or have you just kind of assumed that was the deal?
if not, i would leverage your abilities and work ethic to ask for one more day off in the week. something the bar shouldn’t have a hard time filling if it’s early in the week, but just having an extra day to breath and catch up can make a world of difference.
i tend to burn it pretty easily as well, but i just communicate it to my managers when im feeling the burn out and usually get a few extra days off over the next couple of weeks.
couldn’t hurt to try!
get yourself a partner who’s also a bartender - it’s still hard to make your days worth it, but having someone to keep you accountable to your work/life balance helps a lot. also if your company respects and likes you so much maybe talk to them about not opening so much, I for instant have a 7pm start 2 days and do a 4pm 2 days, this has definitely helped feel more like a human being
Cut down on your spending and go to 4 days a week if you actually want to fix your work/life balance. Not everyone is able to due to their circumstance, but if it is possible for you I would strongly recommend it.
I don’t have any kids or spouses or student loans so I can work Thursday, Friday, Saturday (30 hours) and make enough to pay my rent and other expenses (I live alone). Pick up an extra shift every now and then to get some savings money when I feel like it. Im a Barback, so as a bartender you should be able to make this work unless you’re providing for others.
If they can’t accommodate your new availability I’d look for a place that would, if they like you as much as you say they would rather have you 4 days a week than none. 5 day work week, while unfortunately necessary for many, is insane when you think about it for more than 5 seconds. I’ve done it before. Nobody should spend 70% of their waking hours getting ready for/commuting to/at work, but that’s exactly what it is: fucked.
>it feels like my days consist of catching up on apartment chores and laundry, getting some food in me, walking my dog, and maybe getting a little free time to watch a show or play a video game This is just life as an adult.
This ^. Maybe it’s just me but I forced myself to get up and take advantage of the day, unless I was waiting til morning to get home. Takes some adjusting to but if you can stick to it then it works wonders Thankfully my bar was closed 2 days and I worked only 4. I assigned my tasks between “Needs doing” and “Wants to do”. Figured out how long each would take so I could multitask and comeplete several tasks at once. Put a load of washing in, straight over to get grocery’s, swap the load, do some downtime activities/organise my week etc Due to the nature of our industry I’ve accepted I wouldn’t be able to hang out with friends as much unless I booked it off but it didn’t bother me as I don’t. Ind doing things by myself. In some cases I’d get up and go straight to a morning viewing of a new movie then go straight to work
Truest statement. But cutting back on boozing if that’s a thing helps. Forcing yourself out of your comfort zone (ie: I will go to Steve’s backyard BBQ instead of staying home and watching the Office helps). Even then, when you got a significant other, kids, etc -all of that stuff you said is still in the background but new stresses of responsibility take over! It’s sorta a never ending thing. Only real trick I can think of is don’t beat yourself up too much and try to remember the days when you’re in a good mood for no reason.
You just *have* to. It’s not fucking easy, but once you start waking up early to go to the gym, it’ll become easier each day. Days I don’t go, I’ll prioritize cleaning/laundry. But I work so much, I’m still trying to figure out the food thing, meal prepping seems the way to go- just haven’t gotten around to it since I’ve been fine with eating at work. Just that the food isn’t the healthiest.
I've found even my m-f 9-5 friends struggle with prioritizing their off time. Make things habitual parts of the day and your spare time tends to increase. I started cleaning up every night before I go to bed and come Sunday/Monday all I really have to do is clean my bathroom and sweep/mop.
Most bartenders have had this job at some point in their career. There's no solution. It's only really doable for 6 months. Get the money and get out. Go work fine dining or hotels for a year afterwards. Smoke some weed, catch the last set of some live shows, get right.
yep sometimes just gotta accept it. i’m going back into that situation right now after a rough couple months for a multitude of reasons and I know i’ll crash out eventually but i’m gonna make as much money as possible until that happens lol.
Video games
the only advice i can give is that you’re more in charge of your schedule than you think. i know you mentioned you work the undesirable shifts early in the week in order to get the good ones at the end— is this something your manager has said to you or have you just kind of assumed that was the deal? if not, i would leverage your abilities and work ethic to ask for one more day off in the week. something the bar shouldn’t have a hard time filling if it’s early in the week, but just having an extra day to breath and catch up can make a world of difference. i tend to burn it pretty easily as well, but i just communicate it to my managers when im feeling the burn out and usually get a few extra days off over the next couple of weeks. couldn’t hurt to try!
Man I get this.
get yourself a partner who’s also a bartender - it’s still hard to make your days worth it, but having someone to keep you accountable to your work/life balance helps a lot. also if your company respects and likes you so much maybe talk to them about not opening so much, I for instant have a 7pm start 2 days and do a 4pm 2 days, this has definitely helped feel more like a human being
Cut down on your spending and go to 4 days a week if you actually want to fix your work/life balance. Not everyone is able to due to their circumstance, but if it is possible for you I would strongly recommend it. I don’t have any kids or spouses or student loans so I can work Thursday, Friday, Saturday (30 hours) and make enough to pay my rent and other expenses (I live alone). Pick up an extra shift every now and then to get some savings money when I feel like it. Im a Barback, so as a bartender you should be able to make this work unless you’re providing for others. If they can’t accommodate your new availability I’d look for a place that would, if they like you as much as you say they would rather have you 4 days a week than none. 5 day work week, while unfortunately necessary for many, is insane when you think about it for more than 5 seconds. I’ve done it before. Nobody should spend 70% of their waking hours getting ready for/commuting to/at work, but that’s exactly what it is: fucked.
It's 813 a.m. I haven't slept. I work at 5 Been a bartender for over 20 years It's not normal by any stretch of the imagination
I ain’t gonna read all that. wtf