Jetlag

I underestimated my body’s need to adjust its rhythm after crossing two time zones.

I assumed I’ll have minimal problems with my internal body clock adapting to the new timezone after we landed, but I was wrong. I’m still disoriented and have no sense of day/time that I can’t plan well for things yet.

I have to recalibrate my mental and body clock now that I’m in Canada and things back home are happening +12 hours ahead. They’re awake while I’m asleep and I’m fully into my day just as their day ends. It was the opposite of what I’ve been used to for so long.

I’m struggling likely because I was keeping odd hours back home.

Being on the graveyard shift the last 4+ years since my work requires coordinating with US clients/counterparts, I thought the switch would be seamless since the US and Canada are on the same timezone +-3hrs since Arizona (my US-based company) is on MST.

What I didn’t account for is that back home I was also keeping up with my local timezone once work is done because I have to deal with errands etc to be done during the day, thriving only on 4hrs of sleep.

I’m nocturnal, which compounds it. I work and think better at night, so the graveyard shift suited me well back home but now I’ll be working in the daytime with the US and Canada time zones aligning.

Since I’m still with my old job in a remote work setup, my work day starts by noon and ends around mid-evening. That is, until I get a local job in Canada and school begins in September.

A tricky problem, but not impossible to overcome. The good thing is that I’m not alone in experiencing this and plenty of friends who arrived in Canada before me assured me it gets better over time.

Getting enough sleep, eating well, drinking lots of fluids and listening to my body as it acclimates is the first order of things on the list.

Building up a solid, consistent routine so my body will gradually adjust for the long term is key. Recalibrating the habits I’ve formed in the past will take effort so discipline is crucial.

Guess it’s time to refresh myself of James Clear’s easy and proven ways in the Atomic Habits.

It was pretty useful when I was starting over two years ago and surely will be this round too.