Sleep = Productivity
Over the last few weeks on my own blog, I have covered topics ranging from stress busters to back to school to linked in for moms to past mishaps. It has been a busy few weeks with back to school, diving into a full schedule, and trying to remain calm, cool, and collected. Some days, I have managed better than others.
In the middle of this aforementioned mess that I refer to as my life, I am also preparing final copy for a one-sheet to be handed out at a conference next week. Being the perfectionist that I am, not only has the copy kept me up at night, but while doing it I found 10 copy areas that I want to change across my website. Yet another pressing item that interfered with my sleep.
The reason why I mention all this goes full circle to me discussing stress busters on my own blog. I left out SLEEP as a way of beating stress. I do not know if that was some crazy subconscious thing, but sleep was not on the list. I listed exercise, eating right, and laughter as the top busters. Sleep was missing from the list.
Typically, I do tend to burn the midnight oil AND take advantage of being a morning person. Earlier in the week while working on my copy and finding it difficult to step away, several people said to me ‘sleep on it.’ In other words - give it a rest and look at it with a fresh eye tomorrow.
I took the meaning of ‘sleep on it’ a step further. I interpreted the statement literally. I realized that I was in fact very tired and really did need a good night’s sleep. What did I do? I slept on it, literally and figuratively.
I powered down all my various devices and hit the hay. When I woke up in the morning, I felt great and absolutely ready to attack the task at hand. I finished the copy with a new perspective, and I physically felt much different. I am now moving SLEEP to the top of my stress buster list.
As start-up business people (and moms/dads), our lives are hectic and full. We need to take care of our businesses (and families) and often forget about ourselves. I know myself - I grab another cup of coffee or diet coke and keep plugging away. This catches up with me and you all too easily.
Yes, we need to make time to laugh and exercise. It is always important to eat right. BUT, most important is SLEEP. Allow yourself the time to walk away from whatever project you are working on, power down, and relax. Getting a solid night’s sleep will not only give you a fresh approach but make you feel great.
Think of it this way - SLEEP = PRODUCTIVITY.
Want to read more about stress relief or my latest mishap - check out http://backngroovemom.com
September 15th, 2011 at 1:05 pm
Completely true. I had myself convinced throughout highschool and college that I only needed 3 or so hours of sleep and then I was fine. When I got myself into situations where focus wasn’t an option, I suddenly found that I couldn’t function properly without at least 7-8 hours.
September 15th, 2011 at 7:41 pm
Thanks for the input! Yes - I have graduated to 6 hours… working my way to 8 hours! Rachel
September 20th, 2011 at 7:52 pm
Rachel, You know I am a big proponent of sleep if you do not suffer from insomnia or suffer nightsweats, sweet sleep is the perfect recharger!
September 23rd, 2011 at 7:42 pm
[...] Sleep = Productivity – I’ve talked about the power of sleep and napping here before. I’m a huge fan because sleep fixes things. It can help you solve problems. It can wipe out stress. It can give you distance and perspective. It can keep you healthy. It can be like a huge reset button. And so much more. What can you do next week to get a little more sleep each night? [...]
September 27th, 2011 at 9:43 am
There’s a great book called “Lights Out” that you should read. It discusses just how critical sleep is to your health and even talks about the levels of light that you be sleeping with (hint: 0 lol)
-Kevin
November 21st, 2011 at 7:13 pm
So very true. When we’re young it’s easy to dismiss that we require sleep in order to function properly. By far it’s the best way to recharge for the next day and get those neurons firing.
Andre