Getting used to working a 9-5 job after university

You could say that I’m a little late on this post, and yes, I am still posting about university. While this month marks a year since I graduated from university, I’ve started to think about my first year working a 9-5.

The university routine

Sure, I’ve worked 9-5’s before. I did a 3-month summer internship in 2016, and in 2017 and 2018 I worked 9-5 during every summer, easter and Christmas break. But every day I went to work during those times, I always knew that I had university to go back to – they were only temporary.

I was super fortunate at university, in the fact my weeks consisted of, at most, 25 hours of lectures, and at it’s very least only 12 hours a week. This left me with a whole lot of free time. Granted, some of it was studying, writing or reading, but a lot of it was spent in bed watching Netflix, at the gym, or out with friends.

I loved having all this extra time to myself – I had my own space, and I had time to do what I loved… I played a lot of netball, and I spent a lot of time on my blog and Instagram. But during my third year, the thought of this freedom being taken away from me increasingly popped into my mind as the end of term approached. I knew I was going to be getting a job with a limited holiday, with no opportunity to skip for a couple more hours in bed.

Getting used to the reality

One year on, I’ve been working 8:30-5pm in an office every day since. I’m fortunate that I get 25 days off a year, but the truth is I’m still struggling. Day-to-day I’m ok, and I still have time to blog, to go to the gym, and see my friends, but the biggest thing I struggle with right now is the thought that this is it. This is it for the next 40 years of my life.

Sure, if I want to have a day off to lay in bed and binge Netflix I can, but I know it’s not something I’ll ever do because I value my days off too much. So much so that I want to be doing something with them – going away, doing something with a loved one, anything but feel like I’m wasting it.

I know that it’s not the be-all and end-all. There are always other options, and at the end of the day, I’m earning money now – I wasn’t earning a penny staying up late all week watching series after series of Greys Anatomy. And it makes me value these things more too. I know how much I appreciate and need ‘me-time’, so I make sure I have some scheduled in the week for example.

And the money I’m earning is going to something even greater – a house and my future. Nobody wants to stay at university slobbing around forever, do they? It just takes some getting used to, and I think I’m doing pretty ok so far.

Top & trousers – New Look | Shoes – ASOS | Bag – Topshop

Have you ever struggled getting into a new routine?

Lucy x