How do you keep your wits about you when you are really tired?

The first two or three weeks on a new job are extraordinarily draining. Give yourself time to settle in. And don’t expect to have it down for six months.

Meanwhile, keep asking yourself (frequently) questions such as “What do I have in my hand? What should I have in my hand?” And swear to run a checklist before you leave the house (with your keys in your hand), leave your car (with your keys in your hand), and leave work.

Try going to bed earlier. Take naps when you have free time. Thats what my mom does, and she gets up at about half an hour ealier than you said you do. As well as that, try to make your sleeping environment as comfortable as possible, so as not to wake up in the middle of the night, and lose sleep. Also, determination to adapt to your new schedule can greatly help. Fit your schedule to the job. It doesnt mean you have to start eating breakfast at 4:30 am and lunch at 9 or anything, but try and move your daily habits arounds, so that you can reajust yourself to a better “natural clock”.

This is only theory to me but supposedly making sure you get a good amount of execise will help tremendously. And I heard somewhere that dehydration was the leading cause of drowsieness. so drink brawndo… its got electrolites

I manage to perform and function on very little sleep for days on end by incorporating the use of routines. With the recent addition of mandatory uniforms at my job, getting dressed for work is even easier now.

Some of my routines include buying a set group of groceries for packing lunches to take to work, waking up and leaving for work at the same times each day, and making sure to stay hydrated (which is an around the clock job BTW).

Drinking plenty of water and eating small meals/snacks regularly will keep your body fueled and able to function during times of little sleep/high stress. I try to limit my caffeine intake, because it wreaks havoc with my blood sugar level which eventually makes me even more tired.

@Jeruba is right. Once you settle in, you can go amazing hours.
I did 60 hours of work a week on top of an hour commute each way for ten years.
You get used to it.

Sleep.

I once experienced a sudden crying jag after working back to back extended shifts in the ship’s laundry (U.S.Navy).

I’ve also experienced frequent periods of driving a tractor-trailer down the road without realizing I was sleep behind the wheel.

Funny thing about fighting sleep.

It’s like Popeye fighting Bluto…

…the outcome is inevitable.

I had a job where I worked 6:15–9:15 am and then went back to work 3:30–6:00 pm. When I started out I was awesome. Then as time dragged on it got more and more exhausting. I’m naturally a night owl and the earliest I could go to sleep was midnight. After my morning shift, I’d take a nap then wake up and go to work. I never gave myself enough time for important things like making breakfast and that made a huge difference.
Things that usually help me is having breakfast with a good amount of protein in it [protein helps keep you focused, carbs make you happy] and then taking vitamins.
Breakfast and vitamins made my days waaaay better (when I took the time to do so).
Oh and drink plenty of water.

Like Jeruba writes, I’m all about checklists and laying out clothes the night before and knowing exactly how long it takes to get from my bed to my car and what foods I’ll eat at home or once I get to work. Some months I average over 70 hrs a week so it becomes really important to write stuff down and plan. Good luck adjusting, it’ll come.

About three years ago I went from working anverage of 37 hours a week to 50 hours a week.

As has been said, you do get used to it, but here’s some things that work for me:
• Get to bed earlier
• Drink lots of water
• Plan lunches and clothes the night before.
• Sleep with headphones on listening to jazz or classical.
• Get up the same time, even on weekends.
• To-Do lists linked to my calendar linked to my address book linked to my eMail…
• Spreadsheets to track all sorts of stuff.
• Set aside one of my two days off for laundry, house cleaning, errands, etc.
• Spend the other day off relaxing (reading, acupuncture).
• Eat at my desk while working and nap in my car at lunch.

While these do work pretty well, I do feel like a gerbil on a wheel sometimes (with the constant repitetition and lack of spontaneity) – but such is life.

and then you die

@Jeruba and others have said; Checklists and preparation are everything. Develop routines of always checking on what you need. Always keep things in the same place and try to do routine things in the same way. Laying out things in preparation for a task. Lay out you clothes and other necessary things the night before. Try to do jusy one thing at a time, to the best of your ability, then move on to the next item. Prioritize your tasks. Delegate to subordinates; a difficult thing to learn sometimes if you’ve always done tasks alone before. You can only multi-task to a certain degree without making critical mistakes; you have to learn what that limit is and not exceed it. Encourage your subordinates to take on more routine tasks.

it’s all in procedure, procedure even going to toilet. harsh, bitterly tiring but works