The Secret to My Creativity Even My Husband Doesn’t Know…
Posted by Kelly | Posted in Communication 101 | Posted on 08-01-2010
Tags: copywriting, copywriting TNT, Kelly Seow, Lorrie Morgan Ferrero, napping, Red Hot Copy, secret to creativity, Sharing Your Heart, Sharing Your Heart Services
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Time to join the greats!
By Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero, Expert Copywriting Strategist
Yesterday my hubby came home at 4:30pm and I was passed out on the bed, hooked up to my iPod, with an eye mask enjoying a late afternoon snooze.
“I thought you were working!” he said.
“But I was!” I replied.
As a creative person I can tell you sometimes a complete disconnect is the only way to stoke those innovative fires. A nap can be the best thing you do to increase your creativity and productivity. Sounds crazy, I know.
But I’m not alone here. Winston Churchill was a napper. So were Albert Einstein, Eleanor Roosevelt, Bill Clinton, Leonardo Da Vinci, John Rockefeller, Gene Autry, and Thomas Edison, to name a few. Those are some powerhouse names. I say if it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for me.
Let’s say it’s 2:45 pm and you’re staring at your computer screen with a laundry list of TO DO items. Your mental energy just isn’t locked in, and your mind is jello. How productive do you think you’re going to be? Even if you buckle down and focus, whatever you turn out isn’t likely to be your top-shelf best. Time to recharge with a power nap.
For me, whenever I close my eyes in the afternoon away from email, the phone, the fax, the Internet, Facebook . . .let’s just call them “THE DISTRACTIONS” . . . my mind is finally able to put together marketing campaigns, clever copy, and ideas with COMPLETE FOCUS. In fact, the less I try to come up with a solution and relax my brain, the easier it seems to come. Sometimes it just requires a nap to reboot creativity.
A NASA study showed a 26-minute nap can boost performance by 34%. The fact is most people are naturally tired in the afternoon anyway (about 8 hours after waking). Our biological clocks are built that way. Research is very clear that naps reduce stress, increase productivity, perk up patience, and improve brain function. That’s a lot of bang for your buck. I know I wouldn’t get nearly as much done without them personally.
So how do you incorporate naps into your workday?
