My EMS shift on Monday evening runs from 6pm until midnight. Sometimes we’re on the go all night. Other times we sit and sit. You pass the time reading or watching TV. I’d sleep, but when I try to nap, it’s never satisfying.
One thing is certain, Tuesday morning can be tough, especially if you get a late call that keeps you until after midnight. Four hours of sleep or less is the routine.
My strategy for Tuesday is simple: try to be agreeable, and to accomplish this, a good strategy isto say as little as possible. I even have a list of pre-approved phrases that help me get through meetings:
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- Great idea!
- Let’s talk more about that.
- I hadn’t thought of it that way.
- Maybe we should bring that to the team.
- Can you send me more information about that?
By the way, if you say these things, don’t do it with a sarcastic tone of voice. Not good.
But the real problems start when you go off script. Sleep deprivation can impair you in the same way as alcohol. And like with alcohol, if you start running your mouth, the results can be bad.
So, here’s my workplace tip of the day: Tired? Say less, smile more and stick to the script. Or just consider calling in sick.
Will you be extinguishing flaming deep-fried turkeys this year? There seem to be fewer fire horns in the last several year on Thanksgiving. Perhaps Darwin has intervened.
Well, I’ve given up firefighting for EMS — but we could get a customer with turkey related injuries. I hope not. We can laugh about someone burning down their deck, as long as nobody gets hurt.
However, it’s true that there are less house fires than in the old days. Better building materials and smoke detectors help. The stupid factor keeps us in business…