A new trend from BusinessWeek.com – Napping Your Way to the Top. I laughed out loud when I read this article. Full disclosure – I hate naps. I never take them no matter how tired I am. Hence the reference to Longfellow in title of this post.
From the article:
Without sleep you don’t learn. My research shows that people deteriorate during the day. It’s difficult to sustain productivity. Naps can add back to the sleep you’re deprived of at night. And a nap enhances productivity even if you have enough nocturnal sleep.
I still remember the business owner I worked for in my first outside sales position. He was a great guy and a patient man when it came to training me. However, he was a bit eccentric. The first day I went out on a sales call with him, we went out to lunch and then arrived at the prospect’s office 20 minutes early. This business owner pulls into the parking lot, turns the car off and reclines his seat. He then told me that he needed to take his power nap and closed his eyes. I just sat there looking out the window for 20 minutes. He then woke up and into the call we went.
The author of this article mentions a similar approach:
I’ll also nap in the car. If I have a meeting, I’ll get there 15 minutes early and set my cell phone alarm to wake me up.
I never thought I would read that in a BusinessWeek article.