Choosing the Dreaded Morning Shift

“I am not a morning person.” Those were the words I thought to myself when I crawled out of bed the morning of my first shift as a volunteer this semester. Without coffee and a good breakfast I am like a zombie slowly rising out of bed. It does not matter what day or time, I am not a morning person, which is why at 6:30 in the morning I was regretting signing up for volunteering during the morning shift. As I lay in bed I thought to myself “How could I have signed up for a shift that takes away my precious sleep? What was I thinking?”

A volunteer coordinator usually gives a maximum of three choices of shifts for you to volunteer. When it comes to these requests there really is not much choice. Those shifts are specific times and dates. As a student I have to consider my own schedule and commitments that I have outside of school. The only shift that did work with my schedule was the dreaded morning shift.

Although I do not enjoy waking up in the morning I found through my own experience that there are advantages to volunteering in the first shift. For example, I was an integral part of set up. I learned about where necessary supplies are stored. Knowing more information about the mechanics of setting up will make you more useful to the coordinator who may call on you to retrieve a specific item. It will save the volunteer coordinator time explaining the directions to you or retrieving it by themselves. Being the volunteer that is often called on can translate into being a valuable worker. Moreover, because the morning shift is usually the least desired shift, if you are one of the few volunteers that show up on time and ready to work you will stand out more because you are reliable. Following through with your commitments and having an acquired knowledge of the organization will not go unnoticed and will be rewarded on a reference letter.

From now on, when you and I wake up in the morning and ask ourselves the question “What was I thinking?” we will remind ourselves of the opportunity for us to stand out among the rest because we will appear responsible and willing to sacrifice more than others to contribute to the organization’s goals.