Before I go into my current state of being I will give a little background as to why I am writing this. I am a 22 year old male living in California. I recently got a great job thanks to help from my older brother and his gf. I work for a food distribution company as a picker. What I do is basically go around a huge warehouse on an electric pallet jack picking items(food) off of shelves and forming a pallet. This is done through a list of stickers I get telling me the location, quantity, description, weight, and customer. This list is also programmed by me through a transaction number into a headset.
The headset tells you what aisle the item is located at, what shelf number, and what level. There is a check number located at every slot that you must call before picking the item off of the shelf. If correct, the headset will then tell you the amount to grab off of the shelf. There are a set amount of cases you must pull per hour. If you send the wrong item, wrong quantity of a certain item, or simply forgot to include an item; this counts as an error or mistake towards you. This is where the job gets complicated. I myself am pulling about 700 cases a day(still not meeting requirements). This is my first warehouse-type job and I've never operated any of the equipment before. I still have two more months until I am expected to meet all requirements though.
Lately I have been getting a lot of errors and have been getting in trouble with management. Just yesterday I got a few and it has been happening consistently. One or two errors a month isn't a huge deal, but to be getting one every week is grounds for being fired. I have been picking at a slower pace and looking for ways to help me focus. I tend to double check items slowing me down further. The company values accuracy above all, then speed.I have never been at a job where there is a lot of responsibilities like this placed on you. We get paid well so I would like to keep working here. I need to find other ways to help me focus on the task at hand and make sure I can overcome these mistakes.
I feel on edge at work everyday, and my confidence wavers. I find myself triple checking my pallets and still feel as if I forgot something. My brother is a picker also and he is one of the most successful ones working for the company. He has talked to me on multiple occasions trying to figure out what I can do to improve. All his comments and advice does help, but I still make errors.
I ask you Team Liquid, what do you guys do to help you focus? I usually work 10 hour shifts so I need something that will aid me for that span of time. This can be anything from supplements to physical exercises. I currently go to the gym at least an hour a day, five days a week. Other than that I eat healthy and get at least 5 hours of sleep. I have been thinking of picking up yoga to help ease my mind and center my focus. Any and all suggestions welcome, thank you guys.
Sounds like to me that you got a decision to make. Gym or sleep? Extra physical fitness, or mental acuity. If you value your concentration during your job, I think you should take more sleep, but everybody is different. You don't need more sleep if 5 hours is all you need, but it appears that you are mentally exhausted through lack of sleep. Basically everything you said can be explained by fatigue through sleep deprivation.
On July 09 2014 00:34 Dangermousecatdog wrote: Sounds like to me that you got a decision to make. Gym or sleep? Extra physical fitness, or mental acuity. If you value your concentration during your job, I think you should take more sleep, but everybody is different. You don't need more sleep if 5 hours is all you need, but it appears that you are mentally exhausted through lack of sleep. Basically everything you said can be explained by fatigue through sleep deprivation.
The problem with that though is that my brother gives me a ride to work. I basically inherited his schedule. He has been going to the gym for 8 years so I would feel bad breaking his commitment to that. I'm going to be be getting a car soon, maybe then I can try and skip out on the gym a few days in exchange for more sleep.
Methylphenidate, especially Ritalin, which is somewhat a very weak form of legal cocaine. Cocaine, which will transform you character after a while. Some people find it easy to take the stress of off things with a slight buzz, one of my friends hasn't been sober in like 5 years and is performing to his requirements in his job
And there lies the Problem, you looking at it wrong. How could you hurt yourself more then by transforming yourself into a function, into a robot? Most supplements do not highten your concentration, they lower your dopamine, which is responsible for curiosity, ideas and creativity, maybe you should try to find a creative outlet of sorts. Instead of the gym, pick up dancing, start writing or learn to draw.
In addition to sleeping 8 or more hours a night, keep your hydration consistent. Have water on hand and sip every 10 minutes or so. I too have to concentrate during work, and maintaining even hydration helps.
Sleep, yoga, meditation, hydration. These are all great ways. I'd especially try things like meditation and yoga, I know these have boosted my confidence quite a bit
Fix your sleep schedule, get 8 hours of sleep per day. Drink 2.5 liters of liquids (preferably water) per day. If your problems persist then yes I'd recommend yoga or meditation like the above poster said. Not sure if it helped my confidence, but meditation definitely can help my focus. You can go from that state of mental chaos when you have hundreds of thoughts just swirling trough your head to that state of complete and deep concentration and stillness, a state where you all that mental chatter just ceases and the only voice you can hear any more is your own.
I do always keep a water bottle on my lift at all times. I drink 4 or more bottles of water a work day. I would drink more but it tends to fill me up after that point. How do you go about meditating? If there are any informative sites you guys can recommend that would be greatly appreciated. I am looking to pick up yoga in the coming weeks, I've always been curious to try it beforehand.
I agree with everyone about sleep. It can make or break your focus. If you have enough, your willpower might skyrocket. If you have too little, you might not get anything done.
Good idea to try yoga.
My suggestion is, do you read very much? I have found that reading increases the amount of time I am able to perform one task without stopping. Try to do things that will bring you more into the present. How long are the numbers you have to call? Do you do that with a scanner automatically, or do you have to speak the numbers into the microphone? Perhaps you have an unknown dyslexia issue. Of course going so fast with all the numbers can make you have a little dyslexia anyway. Are you driving something around or walking with the pallet jack? If driving, is there something you can do to go faster? For example, you can really get away with top speed if you're going straight. Turning, you might want to be a bit more careful.
Aside from all the health tips, just try to be more present and notice where you are wasting time. Time is ticking!
congrats on finding a well paying job. Let management know your concerns. Maybe they're more understanding than you think? At your lunch break or before you start working, take 5 minutes and ask them how you could go faster. I'm sure they understand you're just new, but letting them know you want to do well can only help.
On July 09 2014 08:58 autoexec wrote: 10 hours of work + 1 hour of exercise + 5 hours of sleep = 16 hours
You have 8 other hours in your day, allocate a little bit more to sleep and you will be fine.
You didn't factor in 2 hours of driving time total. From work to the gym and from the gym to home. Management is actually pretty understanding. They have told me that they actually like me and my attitude. I've just got to improve myself and show them I deserve to be here.
On July 09 2014 09:25 hp.Shell wrote: I agree with everyone about sleep. It can make or break your focus. If you have enough, your willpower might skyrocket. If you have too little, you might not get anything done.
Good idea to try yoga.
My suggestion is, do you read very much? I have found that reading increases the amount of time I am able to perform one task without stopping. Try to do things that will bring you more into the present. How long are the numbers you have to call? Do you do that with a scanner automatically, or do you have to speak the numbers into the microphone? Perhaps you have an unknown dyslexia issue. Of course going so fast with all the numbers can make you have a little dyslexia anyway. Are you driving something around or walking with the pallet jack? If driving, is there something you can do to go faster? For example, you can really get away with top speed if you're going straight. Turning, you might want to be a bit more careful.
congrats on finding a well paying job. Let management know your concerns. Maybe they're more understanding than you think? At your lunch break or before you start working, take 5 minutes and ask them how you could go faster. I'm sure they understand you're just new, but letting them know you want to do well can only help.
I'm not really looking for help on improving my cases per hour. Last week I hit the required cares per hour two days out of the five. I know the speed at which I should be going, but for now I have slowed down due to accuracy being more important. I do in fact read a lot. Everything is done by talking to your headset. The check slot numbers and quantity of cases are relayed to the headset.
Pretty much same advice as everyone else: Eat well, drink plenty of fluids, sleep enough. Don't rely on caffeine, etc, to keep you awake. Any benefit you see at the start will slowly diminish as your body becomes more dependent on it.
10 hours of work, 2 of driving, one of gym gives you 11 more hours in the day. If you want to go for 8 hours, that's 3 hours to do other things and then weekends (assuming you don't work 7 days a week).
Organising yourself at work will come from organising your time at home. Don't think of it as needing to focus at work, think of it as becoming more focused in all areas.
Set an alarm for the same time every day, 6-7 days a week (you can have one day off to lie-in if you like). Get up and do the same things every morning. A routine will set you in a frame of mind and will set your focus for the rest of the day.
Okay so read a couple of your blogs, and I really like your focus on diet, I think you are on to something
I am going to recommend something that has done wonders for me, and my wife, but every time I recommend it to someone, they look at me like I am insane. It has REALLY helped my focus, my sleep, and my fatigue. I have zero brain fog and at my job (superior court clerk, reviewing and filing documents all day) a lot of accuracy and speed is required as well. There are literally thousands of different procedures in general civil for different documents, and you really have to be on point.
So here it is: stop eating wheat. Any kind of wheat at all. Beer, bread, flour, additives, anything. You seem up to trying things, so I guarantee you if you do this, strictly for 2 full days, you will be forever convinced. corn and rice are fine, I lean heavy on fruits like bananas and fish (tuna/salmon) and nuts.
I hope you give this a go, please let me know what happens!
(ps: honestly when I quit eating wheat about a month ago, I felt like i was 20 again and I am 36. So honestly, you may not see the stark difference I have, but I imagine it will still help. Sleep gets WAY better for me.)
On July 14 2014 01:54 CursOr wrote: Okay so read a couple of your blogs, and I really like your focus on diet, I think you are on to something
I am going to recommend something that has done wonders for me, and my wife, but every time I recommend it to someone, they look at me like I am insane. It has REALLY helped my focus, my sleep, and my fatigue. I have zero brain fog and at my job (superior court clerk, reviewing and filing documents all day) a lot of accuracy and speed is required as well. There are literally thousands of different procedures in general civil for different documents, and you really have to be on point.
So here it is: stop eating wheat. Any kind of wheat at all. Beer, bread, flour, additives, anything. You seem up to trying things, so I guarantee you if you do this, strictly for 2 full days, you will be forever convinced. corn and rice are fine, I lean heavy on fruits like bananas and fish (tuna/salmon) and nuts.
I hope you give this a go, please let me know what happens!
(ps: honestly when I quit eating wheat about a month ago, I felt like i was 20 again and I am 36. So honestly, you may not see the stark difference I have, but I imagine it will still help. Sleep gets WAY better for me.)
I will try it out! I am actually feeling like tuna, so I'll make some kind of tuna salad but leave the bread out of it to make a sandwich. It will be hard to adjust but I am pretty open to new things, especially if they will help me in the long run. Definitely an interesting tip.
What company do you work for? I'm just curious. Since you're working as a loader I presume you work something like 12am-10am or something of that nature? Is it dry goods, frozen/reefer or both?
EPT
