Can you imagine sleeping on the job? The “old me” would have had a startled response followed by a flood of guilt if either my boss tapped me on the shoulder or I woke up in my home office alone. Then I would wonder how much time I had just lost and how could I let that happen.
But let’s move forward in time and switch gears for a moment. I know when I’m on the right path, messages indicating I’m going in the right direction pop up in the most unlikely places. My clients and those who know me are well aware of how important I believe it is just taking a few quiet moments to refresh, recharge and refocus so those new ideas can come through. That’s why I created The Virtual Spa, serenitypathways.com, a short 3-8 minute “pause” in the chaos of the outside.
So for the second time in the past month I have read or heard from different studies that pausing-sleeping for 10 minutes “on the job” makes a difference in your performance. On Good Morning America, http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/JobClub/ Tory Johnson spoke about the research of sleeping on the job for 10-20 minutes. The research shows that 65% of the work force population has trouble organizing, performance issues and difficulty concentrating around 2 o’clock in the afternoon. This concept isn’t embraced in the majority of companies yet, but now you know how important that 10 minute pause in your day can be.
If you can’t sleep, at lease hit the pause button for 10 minutes. Close your eyes, take a walk, listen to some quiet music or take a quick nap. I can hear some of you, your friends or co workers now! “I don’t want to wait while someone sleeps” or “I’m losing time!” Be forewarned, that is “old paradigm thinking” and many will continue to think that way but be less productive. The new wave in surviving what we have to do in a day is the short break or the short nap that opens up the door to many more possibilities.
Here’s to the pausing and napping,
Bonnie
PS I couldn’t find those dream masks Tory Johnson showed on GMA if you find them please post.
PPS Post your “pause” stories and inspire others!
What perfect timing for this topic! Just the other day I decided that I have to stop trying to work through my sleepy time in the afternoons and either take a cat nap or do something physical. I simply wasn’t sure which was “better” – now I know that it doesn’t matter! Any break is a good break. Thank you, Bonnie!