Feeling burnt out...

Kmartinrvt13

So today at work a friend/coworker of mine asks me how I'm doing, I gave her a funny look and said I was fine why? She said just wondering. Then I told her you know I'm tired, really tired, me putting in 55+ hour work weeks then coming home and being mom/wife on top of that is really starting to take its toll on me. I'm 25 years old but feel like I'm 40 she then looked and me and told me I look burnt out. I don't know how much more I can handle, I'm breaking and there is nothing I can do about it but grin and bear it. I hate being so young and feeling so old. I love bein mom but I feel like I don't get enough time with her because I'm at work all the time please tell me it gets better! Thanks for listening,

sillygirlio

I think the PP had some great suggestions, another thing you could try is an Epsom salt bath.  I know it sounds stupid but it's actually a really great, incredibly cheap way to relax and all you need is 20 minutes after the kids go to bed.  Seriously, the first time I did this I slept better than I had in years and now I make sure I get one a week... it's better than wine!

I'm sorry you're feeling so stressed, I hope it gets better! 

Karla CS

Is there anything you can do about the 55+ hour work weeks? When I came back to work, I made a conscious decision that I would work 40 hour weeks, with anything more than that on an ad hoc basis - overtime as the exception, not the norm. 

While I went into with the expectation and understanding that it could limit my career trajectory, I've actually found that I'm more productive during the workday, and getting the same amount done. 

I'm also a firm believer that if your company is staffed so that a 55+ hour work week is normal, they're not staffed appropriately and setting themselves up for rapid turnover. I started out in accounting, where is pretty regular for people to work 60+ hour weeks, especially during busy season - but it's also pretty common for people to get two years experience and move on. 

Kmartinrvt13

I've talked to my practice manager about my hours, but wea rent staffed appropriately at all and when I say anything about it, it goes in one ear and out the other saying that it's working. I'm a registered veterinary technician so a lot of my work day is taking care of hospitalized patients and surgery sot here isn't much I can do about moving things around and being more productive. Plus talking to manager about it (who is also a registered veterinary technician) only works 2 days a week. We have had major turnovers and it's getting really hard. And when I came back to work I told them I didn't want to work a ton of hours, but it's hard when I get clients who walk in as we are closing needing to be seen. Company policy is to see them, and company policy is to see emergencies when they call. Avid trying to get a day off is almost impossible. I have to negotiate working more to get one day off. It's just getting to be too much for me.