When I started working in sales, I was unstoppable in the mornings. I blocked off 8:30 – 12:00 for prospecting every day because I knew my energy level, wit, and emotional strength were at their peaks. If I’m being completely transparent, I knew that I was exhausted in the afternoons and couldn’t handle the arduous task of introducing myself to strangers. I scheduled demonstrations and meetings in the afternoons because those events were easy for me. Anything else in the afternoon challenged me to stay awake … especially internal meetings. I dozed off several times in front of my bosses – thankfully I always hit my number and they acted like they didn’t notice me crashing in the back of the room.
One day I went home to eat lunch. I never ate lunch at home because my sales territory was in a different part to the city. However, for some reason that I don’t remember, I found myself in my neighborhood at about lunch time. I had no idea that I was about to discover a secret that has changed my life … well, it’s changed my life during the hours of 1:00 – 5:00 pm.
After eating something like a protein shake or leftover chicken or a tuna sandwich (the sum of my diet during the 1990s), I fell asleep on my couch. Yep, the middle of the workday and there I was, napping away the afternoon. I woke with fear and could not believe what just happened. What time was it? Did I miss my 2:30 meeting? I was relieved to discover that I had only been asleep for ten minutes. I put away my dishes and went about my day, feeling a little guilty about what just happened. I felt like I cheated on my boss … it was weird.
After my afternoon sales call, I remember taking notes in my car with total focus. When I returned to the office for our daily 5:00 stand-up, I was wired. I felt like I usually feel at 9:00 am. What happened? What was in that lunch? I couldn’t figure it out.
By now, I’m sure you know the answer to the mystery of that day in 1996, and the answer to the title of this post. It took me about seven more years to be convinced, but I finally connected the dots and realized that a short nap in the middle of the day is all I need to energize my entire afternoon. Since 2003, I have napped almost every single day for ten to fifteen minutes … and it’s made all the difference. When I’m traveling, I’ll find excuses to return to my hotel room for a few minutes, or I’ll pull into a safe parking lot to nap in my rental car. That ten to fifteen minutes returns several hours of focus, energy, and joy throughout the rest of the day.
Over the last 17 years, I’ve read a ton of material about the science of managing energy and what sleep does to our brains. I won’t bore you with statistics – either trust me and start napping every day or do some online research to find supporting data. Falling asleep in the middle of the day is hard at first, but after a few weeks you’ll get the hang of it and your body will drift off for a few minutes and wake up within a few minutes, and you’ll never have those afternoon blues again!
