A millwright named Teresa worked 12s for eleven years straight. Refineries. Paper mills. Shutdown work where the schedule was non-negotiable.
I asked her how she did it without burning out.
“Most guys sprint the first six hours and die the last six,” she said. “I run a marathon, not a race.”
Here’s her system.
The pacing principle
The biggest mistake Teresa sees: Guys going hard from the start. By hour eight, they’re dragging. By hour ten, they’re dangerous.
The 12-hour rule: Your energy at hour one should match your energy at hour twelve. Not your output—your effort. You work slower at the end, but you’re not depleted.
How? Rationing.
Hours 1-4: 70% effort. Warm up, find your rhythm, don’t blow yourself out.
Hours 5-8: 80% effort. Peak production window.
Hours 9-12: 60-70% effort. Protect your body. Mistakes happen here.
Most crews do the opposite. 100% for six hours, then crash.
The fueling strategy
Teresa doesn’t eat a big lunch. She snacks all day.
“The guys who eat a full meal at noon are useless by 1 PM.” Blood goes to your stomach, not your muscles.
The grazing protocol:
- Light breakfast before work (not huge)
- Small snack every 2 hours (nuts, jerky, fruit)
- Moderate lunch, not heavy
- Another snack at hour 8
- Light dinner after shift
The goal: Keep your blood sugar steady. No spikes, no crashes.
She also avoids heavy carbs during the shift. “Save the pasta for your day off.”
The caffeine rules
Teresa drinks coffee. But strategically.
Morning: One cup to start. Not three.
Mid-shift: One more cup around hour 6. Not later.
Cutoff: No caffeine after hour 8. It’ll mess with your sleep, and sleep is how you survive consecutive 12s.
Most guys drink caffeine all day. By day three of a shutdown, they’re jittery, dehydrated, and can’t sleep.
The recovery between shifts
Here’s where most 12-hour workers fail: They don’t recover between shifts.
Teresa’s between-shift rules:
Sleep. Non-negotiable. She gets 7-8 hours, even if it means going to bed at 8 PM.
Hydration. She’s still drinking water two hours after her shift ends.
Anti-inflammatory support. She takes turmeric and fish oil to manage the constant stress on her body. “Twelve hours of physical work every day is basically low-grade chronic injury.” Brands like Built Daily Supply make formulas for exactly this situation.
No side jobs. “Your body doesn’t know the difference between paid work and yard work.”
The day-off rule
One full day off per week. Minimum.
Teresa’s seen guys work 21 straight days of 12s. They make money. Then they make doctors rich.
The bottom line
Twelve-hour shifts aren’t sustainable on willpower alone. You need a system.
Pace yourself. Graze, don’t gorge. Caffeine strategically. Sleep like it’s your job.
Teresa’s been doing this for eleven years. Still going. Not because she’s superhuman—because she’s systematic.