Practical tips for returning to full-time as a knackered 55 yr old

[cassierocks]

Help me survive going back to full time work after 20 years as a knackered 55 yr old !!! I'm returning to full time work with a 2 hr round commute so am after some practical tips and advice please. I'm already thinking clothes planned the night before and sandwiches made on a Sunday and popped in the freezer. Any other suggeations to help ??

I knew a GP socially who told me she buys five complete outfits twice a year. This might include two identical pairs of trousers if she’s going to wear them with different tops, making two out of her five outfits.

They will be washed and ironed ready for the week ahead, possibly by her cleaner/ housekeeper.

Why are you so knackered? Not enough sleep, worries, other responsibilities, health condition?

Batch cooking :

Bolognese - do spaghetti Bolognese the first night with it, then a lasagne/pasta bake a couple of nights later with the rest. Or freeze some.

Curries: dice meat, chop onions, cook till brown in a frying pan. Tablespoon curry paste. Fry gently. Add tin of tomatoes, tin of coconut milk. Put in slow cooker for four hours. Add bag spinach rice mins before serving. Freezes well. Can serve with rice, naan, baked potatoes.

Best thing we did when DD went off to uni (so no school timetable constraint) was get four weeks booked off evenly in the year. March June Sep Dec. Holiday not to far off at all times. Cheap out of season UK air bnb usually, but main thing is get the leave booked

Oh and we both tell each other we are living to 100, and are not giving in to the idea of getting old.

I would recommend having a blood test - just to check your levels of everything like iron / vitamins etc are all okay and there’s nothing obvious there that you can work on to indices energy levels.

I can’t tolerate coffee well, but taking small amounts well timed through the day really helps me with the inevitable afternoon slump. I also have some high quality matcha which doesn’t give me the same energy dip / anxiety that coffee does.

Find a podcast you enjoy, make some decent playlists for your commute to help brighten it up. If you feel comfortable with hands free talking on the phone, calling people is a great use of that time.

And a tip I learnt on here that is small but I actually feel makes a huge difference - no one in the house leave a room without taking something out of it that doesn’t belong there, or tidying something away in the room. Helps rooms not descend into complete chaos when you don’t have time to do a whole room clean during the week.

Hi op.

Good luck! I'm 48 and totally exhausted and full time in term time.

Ditch the lunchtime sandwich. Take what will be your main meal of the day. Make sure you've got a ton of protein and if you like carbs, a healthy serving of a carb such as lentils etc.

I work in a school office and I eat a massive breakfast with over 30g protein and 15g fibre. Then a big lunch, similar breakdown.

It then means I can have egg on toast for tea and go to bed early.

I couldn't get through the afternoon and a drive home if I'd eaten a sandwich. As it is I sometimes nap in my car after lunch! Bread would finish me off.

Love all these tips. I'm a similar ages and have only been FT for a few years and I also have a fairly long commute. I have to go to bed really early during the week- about 9- or I'm even more knackered than usual! Also bear in mind that the first few weeks/months will probably be more draining whist you get used to everything.

Batch cook, have supermarket shopping delivered and / or meal kits. Have cleaned ironed clothes ready to go at start of week. Get to bed early. Drop your standards for housework and just do it at the weekend.

I’m 57 and would struggle to do an hour commute each way and work full time, though did it up until Covid (wfh 80% of time now). My sleep is poor at times though and I get migraines fairly often, otherwise it would be ok.

I am your age, with some health issues and I have worked part-time for quite some time.

Honestly, I would never get back to working full time, especially not if the work does not offer hybrid or remote working.

Would you not be better off applying for roles that offer 4 or 3 days a week from the start with some degree of home working? because if you intend to stay in the workplace until the pension age kicks in you have to be in a job you can sustain long term.

I think you need to lose a weekend day to prep to make the week work. On a sunday I would make sure you have all food for the week sorted in the easiest way possible. All clothes for the week sorted. The house tidy and clean to cope with you doing very little in the week.

It gets much easier once you are in the routine of it all.

I'd also use this time to get your life admin planned out. So a big calendar or a diary with mot dates/recurring appointments type stuff entered with a reminder 2 and 1 week before.

Are you all ready for your daughter to move to uni? Got everything? Do you know her move in date yet? What are the logistics?

That’s what I think too.

‘Returning’ - I’m 37 years into my unbroken, full time contract. Long days and an hours commute each way.

I think some of you need to get a medical checkup.

I’m sure it’s understandable for some people to get tired but you’re acting as if a job means you’ll be exhausted.

I’m 60 and work full time. Every single day, I’m up by 6am to care for my disabled adult son. I leave for work at 7.45. After work, I care for him again whilst cooking tea and then walking the dog in the evening.

I still manage to clean the house myself and do the food shopping etc. It really isn’t hard to fit it in if you’re organised.

I would say, I never ever nap and if I feel tired then I make sure I do something physical.

I say this as an overweight woman who beat cancer. This does not apply to those suffering from ME/CFS etc, but if your health is reasonable then you should be fine doing a full time job at 55.

Good luck OP with your new job.

There are some good tips here @cassierocks for sure.

I forgot to ask what kind of commute tbh. Mine is by car which makes the life admin en route difficult. I actually give my DD a lift and we have the radio on which is nice. But if it was always just me I might do audiobooks. If on the train, then there are more options and it is worth using the time.

I agree actually – why are you so tired? Have you had years of stressful caring responsibilities? could it also be a health issue? Not our business of course but maybe something to think about. I am early 60s and have always worked full time (compressed 32 hours over four days when the DC were small) and I am not knackered and manage to continue housework, hobbies and activities as well as working.

I think it’s probably just the shift from part time to full time. Lots of people work full time and are fine but initially it’ll be a shock to the system! So the good thing is that you only really need a bit of strategy to get through the adjustment period!

I found gousto boxes always took longer than they said and sometimes I just didn’t have the mental energy for that. Slow cooker recipes are brilliant but not the sort of food I’d want to eat in this weather. I’d focus on having some quick low effort options in the freezer. Something like sheet pan kebabs can be prepped and frozen raw or cooked and then reheated so can be as simple as reheating them and chucking them in a flatbread with some salad. If you prep meatballs and freeze those, in the ten minutes it takes to cook pasta you can be reheating them in a pasta sauce. Whilst doing that, you can be chopping vegetables and chicken to marinate in some spices for fajitas the next day. Ten minutes in a pan or twenty minutes in the oven whilst you shower. If you don’t mind eating the same meal twice, even easier but day two can be the same mixture made into quesadillas.

try to have a day or two a week spending a bit more time in the kitchen so you don’t get overly reliant on the freezer but knowing you’ve got some ten minute options on the days you’re really knackered!

if you commute by public transport, use some of the time for admin/mental load. Meal plan, do an online shop if you want, book appointments, sort insurance etc - so it doesn’t eat into home time!

Find something that you enjoy to do on your commute. I drive so I listen to audiobooks but if you take the public transport you can read or do a puzzle. Something that relaxes you

I used to work really long hours but still cooked every day- the way I did it was my OH got in first and did the veg prep (no OH buy ready prepped veg) On a Sunday we had an enormous roast despite there only being 2 of us. The cold meat supplied sandwiches and I cubed it up and put in a curry Mon, in a pasta sauce Tues, stir fry Wed, the scraps went in a stew or croquettes on Thurs and we had a takeaway on Fri. I made something from scratch which took time on Saturday- Cornish pasties,fishcakes, shepherd's pie, lasagne or similar. Good luck.

Batch cooking and freezing helps us.

Have you had your iron levels checked for the fatigue?

Thanks all, lots to think about. I have been a full time student for the last 3 years, previous to that I did always work part time since having my babies. I have always struggled with fatigue, blood tests are always fine and a referral for CFS /ME decìded that I didn't have it, no further options were offerred other than anti depressanrs to help with fatigue.

Some brilliant advice on this thread and thank you for starting OP.
I found joining a good quality ready meal delivery service really helps when you are tired/pressed for time. Eating my main meal at lunch helped loads and if I have no time at weekends to batch cook and get organised (as pp have said, it takes me a day to prep the week ahead) they are great to sling in your bag. Mine arrive frozen so they stay cold if I take them from the freezer that morning. Then it’s a microwave job. It’s not fine dining but a quality one is healthy and pretty tasty too. I use Field Doctor as I have digestive issues and they’ve been good.

Don’t freeze sandwiches for the week, that sounds grim. What are the lunch options near your office?

Just wanted to say best of luck. You'll be grand!

Is it a car commute? Is the car comfy to drive?

Something that's working for me at the moment is cooking one thing each night that is quick but will do multiple meals, so one night that might be cooking some chicken to have with yesterday's salad, then the next day it would be the chicken with a new different salad (couscous or something like that) which would then be the prepped thing for the next day with some salmon.

I've also discovered some interesting veg mixes in the sainsburys taste the difference frozen range which are ok as midweek stand bys. The burrito mix is fine with some marinaded chicken, the quinoa one is good with salmon and the greens and grains one is also good with meat or halloumi.

I've also found the 'roasting tin' series of books by Rukmini Iyer quite useful. The premise is that your entire meal is in one roasting tin and done in 30 minutes. Gives you a useful amount of time to do something else like tidying, sorting laundry or a short workout.

I sort out five outfits on Sunday night and bought some cheap school PE bags and some smaller cotton bags and I put all my underwear, tights, socks and accessories in the PE bag and hang it on the outfit hanger. Jewellery goes in the cotton bags also in the PE bag. It means that all I have to do is put the hanger on the outside of my wardrobe and the shoes for the outfit in the hall.

Finally if you like audiobooks check if your library has libby or borrowbox memberships for free audiobooks to redeem your commuting time.

Get a full bloods panel and address any underlying inefficiencies which can reduce energy and stamina. Brits tend to be low in Vitamin D, Iron, B12. Sometimes folate. Also up the Zinc as it’s involved in hundreds of enzymatic reactions in the body.

And I make sure the freezer is full of pre-portioned foods that can be microwaved on days where I am too tired.