self-scheduling help

Eighty hours a week or eighty hours a pay period???

If it's eighty hours a week, you have no problem. You're always on.

Seriously, where I work, three twelves is considered full time. Then you only have to decided whether you want three back-to-back or two and one each week.

I have found that it's good to try to come up with some kind of routine. For instance, most of my co-workers try to have at least one weekday that they never work. They keep that day available for things like appointments.

Working a pattern is good. Assuming you have to do every other weekend like most of us, you could do Sat., Sun., Tues. one week and Wed. and Thurs. of the next. If you always put yourself down for those days, you can have a pretty good idea of how to fit in the rest of your life.

I wish you well.

I agree, having a set pattern is easiest for future planning. Especially with an 8 week schedule! That's a long schedule. My "favorite" 2 week pattern is this: work Thurs, Friday, Sat, Sun off Mon, Tues, Work Wed and Thurs and then I'm off work till the next Thursday. Its hard to do the 4 shifts in a row, but it feels so good to have all those days off in a row. And this way I'm getting in my required weekend shifts, sunday shifts, etc. Good luck finding what works for you.

I would definitely suggest working 4 weeks straight of days and then 4 weeks straight of nights, so you really aren't messing around with your sleep schedule too much. alternating every week would be really tough on yourself. I work all night shifts and I personally think nights you need to work all your shifts in a row. I am the same as you 6-12's and 1-8 in a 2 week period so i usually do 3 12's and an 8 4 nights in a row, have a couple days off, then do 3 12's in a row. If you don't work all your night shifts in a row you will feel like you live at work, because you never seem to get a full day off.