I had the pleasure of being interviewed for an article on Multitasking by Thea O’Connor, an Australian journalist and health promotion consultant. Of course I visited her web site and I discovered a refreshingly different campaign Thea is crusading for: the Napping Project. The idea being, that “napping is a refreshing and proven solution to tiredness in a time-poor world” – and thus, her intent is to establish the mini-siesta as a socially acceptable and valued practice in our personal and working lives.
At first glance sleeping on the job sounded weird, but then I realized that unless you’re a jet pilot (and possibly if you are too, and you have a copilot) that short nap may be an excellent idea. Not to mention that in today’s brave new world “On the Job” is increasingly fuzzy, thanks to the technology and other trends that did away with our work/life barrier. With Information and Work overload making us all increasingly stressed and tired, and work hours extending into the night, taking a 15 minute nap makes a lot more sense than guzzling another dose of Caffeine and trying to stay awake; and the outcome is sure to make us less stressed and more productive overall. For my part, I do take short rest breaks in the workday if I can; I’m considering going all the way and joining Thea’s project…
Of course, we need to learn how to nap – Thea says you should not sleep more than 20 minutes if you want to wake in an alert state, and many people may not be able to fall asleep in such a short time. My late grandfather, I recall, was definitely able to do it: a busy businessman, he had the capacity to sit in an armchair and fall asleep instantly for a few minutes before going into his next meeting or task; a skill I much envy. He also had an ironclad Work/Life barrier – I may tell you another time.
So what do you think? Would you promote a nap-safe culture in your workplace?
Nathan,
In a related vein, check out Tony Schwartz’s “Take Back Your Lunch” campaign: http://www.theenergyproject.com/takebackyourlunch. Very similar concept.
I think there can be a lot to this. My father was self employed and used to come home for lunch and pretty much always have a 15 minute after lunch nap. This seemed normal to me as a child in the sixties and seventies. But sounds a bit weird now!
Even if it’s not napping, the mental and physical break provided by walking away from work for a few minutes can be hugely beneficial in allowing your unconsious to work on things for a while by itself. I’m off for my lunch now, and a bit of a break!
And with today’s increasingly mobile workforce, what’s stopping mobile workers from doing this right now? I understand the need for corporate sponsorship in cubicle-centric organizations or any place where you’re not out in the field… but when you ARE out there, you do whatever makes you productive. We’re measured by results after all.
@balex, that is technically true… but I strongly doubt that many of the mobile workers actually do it. Workaholism is hard to subdue, even when it is counterproductive. Hence the worth of Thea’s campaign to legitimize the practice!