How to succeed? Get More Sleep

Get More Sleep – This post is inspired by Arianna Huffington’s Ted Talk from early 2011.  She spoke to a conference of women and shared how getting enough sleep will lead to the awakening of millions of ideas that lie dormant in people’s heads.

She joked that the women will be able to “sleep (their) way to the top.”

Although this talk was geared towards women, it is applicable for both men and women.

We live in a society where not getting enough sleep is a badge of honor.  It shows how busy we are and how connected we are to everything that we are doing.  There is a competition for getting the most amounts done but the fact is that a lot of major mistakes are being made by very smart people.

Is lack of sleep at the heart of the problem?

Get More Sleep

Huffington’s big awakening (no pun intended) came when she fell asleep at her desk a few years back. Typically not a huge deal but she hit her desk so hard that she broke her cheek bone and was required to get stitches.

She, then went on a journey, met with doctors and experts and learned what seems like common sense -

WE NEED TO GET MORE SLEEP

See the Ted Talk that inspired this post here - GET MORE SLEEP

Below are some tips for ensuring that you get enough sleep each day.

Work against a clock - Set a timer for your daily activities – Give yourself some gentle pressure to get your work done more quickly and when the time is up, the time is up for the day.   A lot of us do not put boundaries around our work day. This is very dangerous, especially for the Type A personality, because these people are more likely to work and work until they drop.

Come up with ways to take yourself out of the picture - If you can delegate, outsource or systemize certain tasks, then you will not need to be as involved with the tasks.  If you take yourself out, then you can be freed up to take on other activities and responsibilities.  You may resist this at first because it may require that you take a few steps back before you take a leap forward, but in the end the effort that you put in will pay off.

Kill off entire projects – You probably spend a ton of time doing major projects that do not forward your goals and do not inspire you.  As opposed to slumping through those activities, simply decide to kill them off and not working on them anymore.  This will free up a lot of time and will free up a lot of energy.

After you completed the items suggested above, you will have more time available.  Fill this time with rest and relaxation and you will find that you are more productive in your life, simply because you are going at it with a clearer head and perspective.

Make it a great day.