Work

Like many people, I have a number of posters, photographs, and other knick-knacks hanging on the walls of my bedroom. Many of these items remind me of special moments in my life, people I love, or things which inspire me. Sometimes, an object will accomplish all three.

In terms of my journalism experience, there is one item which stands well above the rest. Hanging above my desk, above my monitor and below my CPR certification, is a photocopy of the first pay-cheque I received for an article I had written.

It’s a modest sum, 50 dollars, but it stands as one of the first times I said to myself, “Maybe I can do this after all.” It was also the first time I was able to call myself a professional journalist, a thought which still brings a smile to my face and a chuckle to my chest.

Assigned to me by the Whig’s sports editor, Claude Scilly (who was acting city editor at the time), the story was to profile the county of Lennox & Addington’s new manager of economic development. I was excited, not because of the subject matter, but because of what the story represented.

I remember sitting in the office of one of my professors, flipping through the paper, looking for my article. Not expecting very much out of the story, I immediately opened to the back of the paper. “There’s no way they would have run it close to front,” I thought.

It wasn’t until my professor shoved the front section in my face, turned to page two, that I saw it.

The feeling of pride and accomplishment which swept over me at that moment was unmistakable. I showed the article to everyone I could find. I e-mailed the link to all of my friends back home and to all of my relatives. If I knew you, you saw that article.

I’ve since written for the Whig many times over and produced a college magazine. I’ve been paid for my writing and photography and have had the pleasure of seeing my work published time and time again. None of it, however, has ever managed to come close to the feeling of looking at that cheque, and looking at my article, and thinking that maybe — just maybe — I could make a go of this whole writing thing.

Whilst puttering around the warehouse this morning, I found myself suddenly struck with a very severe affliction that can be described only as the “yawns”. It was right before the lunch break and, needless to say, the illness quickly spread throughout the premises, infecting everyone in short order. Surveying the madness before me, I knew something had to be done.

So, I took a nap.

Okay, so it didn’t happen quite like that — I was still on the clock, after all. Once the lunch buzzer sounded, I hauled myself into the fruit fly-infested lunch room and managed to scarf down half my sandwich before having to get the hell out of there. When eating among bugs, it would seem, it becomes difficult to not feel like one is eating the bugs themselves.

Upon making my hasty exit, I immediately began my search for an adequate napping spot within the warehouse. I am fortunate enough to have an employer who considers your break “your time” and doesn’t really bother us much. Normally I would head outside and lie down on the grass for this sort of thing, but it was pouring this morning and the ground was damp.

After a couple of moments, the ideal napping nest was found. Hidden behind some shelves at the back of the warehouse, in a dark spot, the location presented an excellent place to kick back and get some shut eye. I mean, if an afternoon nap was good enough for Winston Churchill, it’s good enough for me, right?

Aside from waking up briefly unaware of my surroundings, the experience went quite well, I must say. It was my own little siesta. With that in mind, I feel it necessary to present the following tips to anyone who wishes to follow in my footsteps and make a habit of sleeping at work:

1. Do not try sleeping while on the clock. Your employer pays you good (okay? sort of good? decent? terrible?) money to work and so you should. Unless, of course, your job is to sleep. If this is the case, sign me up!
2. Your first task is to find an adequate place in which to sleep. Ideally, this spot should be dark, quiet, and have a very low chance of co-worker disturbance. If you work in an office setting, I would suggest checking under your desk, in some sort of utility closet, or on one of the lower floors of the building. If you work in a warehouse, as I do, you can pretty much sleep anywhere that will accomodate you. Try finding spots behind shelving units, under pieces of machinery or conveyor belts, or anywhere else that might tickle your fancy. Remember, this spot should be easily accessible. It’s not like your lunch break is going to last forever, bub.
3. Try to procure some sort of semi-soft substance to sleep on. I used folded-down pieces of cardboard and I found they worked quite well. You know Earl, that creepy guy who works in your shipping department and always has little pieces of cardboard hanging off his shirt? You’re about to become his best friend.
4. Ensure you have a way of waking yourself up at the end of the break. I’m lucky enough to have an extremely loud buzzer which sounds throughout the entire warehouse. You may work in an office environment, or somewhere similar, which is not very open to loud ringing noises. In this situation, a watch with an alarm can be invaluable. It’s strapped to your wrist, so there’s no chance of losing it, and it isn’t loud enough to bother anyone nearby. If having people in your immediate vicinity is not a concern, try going for a full-blown alarm clock, particularly if you are a heavy sleeper. Another option is to try using an MP3 player with an alarm function, which has the added benefit of putting the alarm noise/music directly in your ears. Whatever route you take, make sure you can wake up. Not showing up to work all afternoon would not exactly make a good impression.
5. If you’re caught and find yourself in trouble, try these 10 excuses for sleeping at work.
6. Enjoy!

Having a quick, 20-minute nap can be a great way to refresh yourself for the remainder of the work day and can be a good way to collect yourself mentally before heading back to work. According to a number of newspaper articles, this practice is also backed up by research that shows workers and employers can benefit from afternoon naps.

If anybody has any tips they’d like to share — either about sleeping at work or another method of “charging the batteries” — feel free to post them in the comments or give me a shout. I’ll post any good ones I receive in a later post.