3 Ways to Creatively Nap at Work

It’s 6 A.M. and your alarm clock selfishly awakens you. Reluctantly you lift yourself out of bed to take a shower. What’s the very first thought that crosses your mind? For me it is when can I go back to sleep or do I have any sick days left that would be worth using to sleep longer? Fast-forward an hour or so to when you are at work. You’ve just downed your first cup of coffee, life is good. You answer your previous day’s emails and your energy levels suggest you’ve beaten your sleep hangover. Wrong. Cut to 30 minutes after your coffee buzz has subsided and you are back to plotting how to get some additional sleep. At this point you are confined to your office to figure out a plan to get some additional Z’s. This is where you need to get creative. The following are the three best ways to snooze while you are at work. (A friend suggested these…because I would never….)

The Meeting Nap

This method works just about every time, though it can be dicey if you are not properly prepared. The key to this nap strategy is to book a conference room, preferably one that isn’t that popular. Throw something on your e-mail calendar for a half hour to 45 minutes, name it something important yet boring like “Call with Analytics Guy”. Go into the conference room at the allotted time and pick out the chair furthest from the door.  Lay some papers on the conference table and have your laptop open. If you have a meeting phone number handy, call it and let it stay on hold. This creates great background noise, but also works as a buffer if someone were to barge in on nap time unannounced. Boom, nap time city, population YOU.

Lunch Time Nap

This is the least controversial napping strategy, but there are ways to maximize this nap period. The key is to eat your lunch at your desk, before “lunch time” actually starts. This gives you added time to sleep. You might want to start your car before you begin eating so you can get it set to the optimal napping temperature.  The key to success is setting your alarm to go off 2 minutes before lunch is over. This gives you the maximum amount of time to nap and just enough time to get your bearings.

Bathroom Nap

This is one of the more savage napping techniques in the office, but sometimes you can only work with what you have. If all else fails and you can’t get a meeting room or your car is not an option, then you can resort to desperate measures and nap on the john. Again, not a favorable option, but when life hands you lemons you make nappy time on the toilet.