If you are on such a schedule, what business you need to conduct with the 9–5 world decides your patterns.
Do you ever stay up late on the weekends or perhaps sleep in a bit ‘being lazy’? Same patterns, different time of the day. Or would that be night?

Thankfully, never. At this point in my life, I don’t think I could do it. I’m usually horizontal by 10 pm although not necessarily sleeping. I wake up with the sun or a little after. Old habits die hard.

Yes, one summer in college. Hated it. Worked 11pm-8am. Got back to the dorm and slept, woke up around 3pm, had some meal, saw friends, went to work.

It was grueling.

When I started working in a factory I had to work either second or third shift in a lab, alone. 2nd being 2:30–11:00. 3rd being 10:30–7.

The average people on 2nd shift were younger, and a lot more friendly than those on third. I’d also never been able to sleep during daylight, so I chose 2nd shift.

Well, they hired a kid to work 3rd shift. He was fairly newly married and he was a hunter, so he wanted to be out in the woods before daylight. He begged and begged and occasionally I’d swap shifts for a few days. Finally, his wife had some issue and he really needed to change to 2nd shift. Reluctantly, I agreed. I was pretty much going home, watching nothing on the tube for a couple hours (I also can go home and to sleep) and getting up in time to eat, get ready, and go to work.

You know what? I loved it!
2nd shift was young and friendly? Yup. Constant drama and dating.
I was sleeping about 2 am to 10am, so not only was I sleeping during the day, but I was always tired and had zero life.
3rd shift I’d get off in the morning and go to the store if I needed anything. Even Walmart is deserted at that hour. I’d run the streets, go to lunch, get whatever needed done, done, then lay down 1–2 in the afternoon. I was so tired by then I slept like a log. I’d get up about 5, eat breakfast, shower and do to work. I had more waking hours than I ever had.

The only reason I gave it up was I got a new supervisor that was an ass.

My only caveat is that I was single at the time.

I worked the front desk at a motel when I was 20. Hours were 11pm-7am, 4–5 nights per week. I ate cereal when I got home then slept for most of the day. I think I had a snack when I woke up and a meal before I left for work.

I was young and a nightowl so the hours worked for me.

@ibstubro You only slept from 1pm to 5pm? How many days a week did you manage that?

It seems there should be a way to avoid sleeping your free time away… I mean, if you just mentally shift your clock. If you go in at 11, maybe you sleep from 3 to 10pm, for example. That would only work out if your friends were early birds, too…

I worked swing shift retail for a few months.

The sleep deprivation wasn’t the worst part of the job.

When I had a contracting business I landed a job repairing the parking garage of a Federal Building and the only time I could do the work was after 6 PM till 3:30 am. I had to work 3 weeks stints. I was a young buck back then and the worst part was trying to find people to hang out with from 4 am to 8 am when I finally had to go to sleep.

Opps, Sorry, @AdventureElephants.
Should have said 1 or 2 until about 8.
6 to 7 hours a day, 5+ days a week. If the line ran, I was there, so sometimes 7 days a week.
Being single, I thrived on it.

You’re always free for lunch on weekdays, and until 2 on weekends if they’re in your schedule.

It took me forever to write the first response because dinner happened in the middle of it.

I worked in a Veterans Hospital where the rule was that all rotated shifts. UNLESS you took a permanent “off tour”. Off tours being 1500 to 2300 hours or 2300 hours to 0700. After working “nights” a few times it was worth it to me to take permanent 1500 hours to 2300 hours. I did not “adjust” to night shift at all.

I’m a nightowl and worked midnights for years as a nurse.I finally wasn’t sleeping and changed to evenings 3:30 to midnight. We had day shifts as about half our shifts either way. Evenings are wonderful! you get to sleep in, you can watch a movie when you get home, do any business you need to on the way to work. Days is the worst shift- bright-eyed and busy-tailed at 7 am- blech! People say well the youcan go out at night. How?! I had to be in bed at 8:30 to slow down and get to sleep.