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I have the ability to go to Europe on a pretty low stress business trip in late July if I haven't found another job by then. The conundrum is this:

1. Going to Europe sounds fun.

2. 8 hour time difference, ugh.. no thanks. I'd need a week off afterwards to recover.

Go to Europe!

I personally love to travel, and I would snatch that up in a heartbeat. Life is about making experiences. You'll be tired when you get back, but you'll get an amazing experience too.

You're 20 years younger than I am and I'd go if given the chance...

Go!

See if your company will send me instead!

Go, seriously. You will regret it if you don't.

Is this really a conundrum

It will be worth the recovery time

Note that this is Poland (I don't know much about Poland, except that it was destroyed during WW II).

I guess I'll consider it. :)

I'm not sure I see the conundrum. Are you having trouble figuring out what you're going to pack?

Totally not a conudrum!! Go live have fun!!

Are you having trouble figuring out what you're going to pack?

Haha that would be my only conundrum in that situation

Eh, I really really really do poorly when my sleep gets screwed up. I'm doing treatment for sleep apnea, also. Like I feel depressed and cranky and awful.

I'm hoping that over time with really good sleep habits I'll be more resilient.

That's the main reservation I have.

Also I feel like I keep getting closer to having more energy and then I compromise on my sleep and I backtrack a lot.

Excluding the travel messing with my body the first day arriving at a new place I tend to transition fairly quickly to the new time zone. This is mostly do to the fact that I try to fill my free time with things to do. I walk a lot when I am in a new place just checking things out. My body is so wore out that getting straight to bed is usually pretty easy. I just have to try to not be out to late so that I can be rested for the next day.

The transition of travel usually only kicks my but when I have to go to a location for the umpteenth time and the excitement factor is gone. It then gets tougher for me to get my body in the right swing of things.

There are some jet lag managment techniques, sleeping on the plane, adjusting your food to the new hourly schedule on the day you travel, using melatonin, bringing ear plugs and eye masks to help plane sleep as well as whatever hotel you're in be manageable.

And then my all time fave, scheduling a few days off immediately upon return so that you get to come home, and have several days to sleep.

t/j I had to go to Munich for business once. Flew there from LA. We had to go out to dinner that night, it was me and a bunch of powersports execs, all hard drinking men. I fell asleep at the restuarant on them

Hey cayc, that's actually really good advice, and you reminded me of a tool that could help me with my regular sleep schedule. See https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=199394

[this supposedly works within about a day]

Harvard discovers much faster way to adjust your sleep cycle

Not eating for 12-16 hours can help people quickly reset their sleep-wake cycle, according to a new study from the Harvard Medical School. This discovery can drastically improve a person's ability to cope with jet lag or adjust to working late shifts.

Scientists have long known that our circadian rhythm is regulated by our exposure to light. Now they have found a second "food clock" that takes over when we are hungry. This mechanism probably evolved to make sure starving mammals don't go to sleep when they should be foraging for food.

Excluding the travel messing with my body the first day arriving at a new place I tend to transition fairly quickly to the new time zone.

I've always found it like that myself. My STBXWW lived in my country with me for a number of years before we moved here. We used to visit her family a couple of times a year in the US. We always found that it was the first night that we arrived in the US and the day that we got back to the other side that were the worst. Other than that, we adjusted nicely.

Seriously - if you have the chance to go to Europe, you should go. It'll be an experience and a bit of an adventure if nothing else.

Ambien

It lets me sleep on the plane and then puts me to sleep at the "right" time when I arrive.

Since I've discovered this secret I've done business trips to both the mid- and far-east with virtually no jet lag.

Next tip: go to your local library and check out a guide book on your destination. My library has very current guidebooks - 2012 or more recent. Do a little browsing and get excited about what there is to see!

I once spent almost a month in another time zone that was almost a full day ahead of the U.S. I also have sleep apnea. I brought my CPAP with me. It was worth it for me, I think it will be worth it for you. Embrace the new experience.

do it!!

Do it absolutely! It won't be any more stressful than the crap you've already been through, right? It will be a great experience, and may help put things in perspective... One thing I have learned is that it is all about perspective! My 2 cents...