When you just don't want to go to work....

Nurses General Nursing

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Although I love my job, and would not work anywhere else, sometimes when I've had a day off and I am going back for a three day (12 hr shifts) run, I just don't feel like going! Sometimes I'm a little sad, pre-occupied, or just need time for myself. I know I have to go anyway. You can't just stay home because you want to. So here is my question for you all: What do you do motivate yourself, to psych yourself up, or help yourself look forward to going in to work at those times when you do not feel like going? I'd love some advice!

Specializes in Cardiac.

I fall into the mentality of living for my days off and dreading my days on too :/ I remind myself that it's never as bad once I get there. I remind myself how lucky I am to have a job and imagine the pickle I'd be in if I were unemployed. I get excited about the people I get to work with. I Google motivational music and speeches :) I try to remember how happy and excited I was when I was first offered the job - when I saw it as an opportunity instead of a burden. Sometimes it can seem like the days I work are pretty much "lost days" and kind of don't count. This sounds super cheesy, but instead of separating it out like that into "on" days and "off" days, I try to view every day as just another day in a life I'm lucky to have. As I'm walking into work, I tell myself that there's a specific purpose for me to be at work that day. Even if it's super small and I don't even know what it is, it's always possible that I could do/say something that will have a serious positive impact on somebody! That thought cheers me up a bit as I'm walking through the front door and mentally saying goodbye to sunlight and freedom for the next 13 hours :)

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Specializes in Urgent Care, Oncology.

I love my job as well but here I am, eating a bowl of cereal 45 minutes before work. I'm on Day 2 of 3 after 6 days off.

It didn't feel like 6 days off. We had a mouse terrorizing our house so I didn't sleep but of course last night at 1 am we finally caught it.

Two college educated individuals and it took us a week to catch a darn mouse....

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I love my job as well but here I am, eating a bowl of cereal 45 minutes before work. I'm on Day 2 of 3 after 6 days off.

It didn't feel like 6 days off. We had a mouse terrorizing our house so I didn't sleep but of course last night at 1 am we finally caught it.

Two college educated individuals and it took us a week to catch a darn mouse....

Did you major in Mouse Catching? I'd be on the chair screeching.

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What keeps me going is that I am fortunate enough to save money whereas many people live paycheck to paycheck. I always think that it I ever burnout, the money I am saving now will later help me survive, just in case I wake up one morning and I can't bring myself to get out of bed. It is perfectly ok to change your reasoning as long as you get out of bed and keep going. I have told myself that I can't quit cause Christ-mas is coming or in the summer I will need the money to vacation. I do love what I do but sometimes you have to give yourself that extra support.

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Specializes in General adult inpatient psychiatry.

This i probably not a favorable response, but sometimes I just don't go in if I feel bad enough. I have bipolar disorder and I'm not trying to cop out of my own behavior, but I frame it as a mental health day. Every couple months, I allow myself to call in sick if I'm really not feeling it. It's not like I do anything fun instead of go to work, just ride out the "blahs".

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I daydream about my upcoming vacation when I don't feel like going to work.

Or I tell myself, "It's only 8 hours. You can do anything for 8 hours."

I was taught that one by my preceptor years ago when things got crazy. Then things changed to "It's on 12 hours. You can...." Crap the comfort was gone😒 It actually made me more anxious!

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Specializes in Stepdown, PCCN.

I keep repeating while I'm getting ready and driving in "Its going to be a good day today". If that doesn't work, I try "you really like living indoors".

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Specializes in Critical Care, Med-Surg, Psych, Geri, LTC, Tele,.

I had a routine to get ready for work. It involved arriving early enough to park away from the hospital for awhile to prepare myself mentally. I used this time to listen to music and put on my make up.

I never (rarely) rushed on the drive to work. It was all about making myself feel peaceful.

I always did my hair and makeup, wore cute scrubs that were (mostly) ironed.

Doing all of these things helped me to feel "ready" to go.

I worked with a mostly awesome group of nurses and techs, so that helped, too.

I routinely arrived early to "decompress" get ready for my shift.

Once I arrived at work, I was "on" for the next 8 hrs. Non stop. Fast paced, was my unit.

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Specializes in pediatrics; PICU; NICU.
This i probably not a favorable response, but sometimes I just don't go in if I feel bad enough. I have bipolar disorder and I'm not trying to cop out of my own behavior, but I frame it as a mental health day. Every couple months, I allow myself to call in sick if I'm really not feeling it. It's not like I do anything fun instead of go to work, just ride out the "blahs".

I do the same thing for exactly the same reason. If I'm having a problem because of my bipolar, I'm not much good to anyone else so there's no point in me even leaving home. I don't think it's a cop out & it's definitely not using bipolar as an excuse. It just is what it is.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, NICU.

It is one shift closer until I can transfer the hell up out of here! I am in my first year of nursing and I am looking forward to hitting that one year mark so I can peace out!

I also view it as another day to get more skills in, and the money will go towards something really important, like my Roth that I just opened up, my next big vacation abroad or to help my single mom and special needs brother.

I then remember that I don't have to take these crazy people home with me. I can leave it at the door when I clock on out.

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Specializes in Hospice.

I fortunately don't really have those feelings anymore.

Part of it is the joy of being out of the hospital for the last 10 years. Part of it is being in a relatively low stress area of Nursing (Hospice).

But, the biggest part is that I finally learned how to set boundaries and say "No". Since I'm not on call this weekend, my phone was shut off at 5pm, and won't be turned on until Monday at 8am. Sixty-three hours of work free bliss.

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Specializes in Urgent Care, Oncology.
Did you major in Mouse Catching? I'd be on the chair screeching.

I did holler quite loudly when it unexpectedly jumped at me one day. So loud, as my husband put it, that he thought I was being murdered and that somebody would call 911.

Nobody called 911. Good to know that my neighbors don't mind someone getting murdered.

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