Nappin' Ain't Easy 7

Getting things done ain't easy

As Henrietta ably laid out for us last week, it’s not always easy to nap because reasons — because many reasons. I’m going to pick up where he left off — meditation — but I’m going to take the long way there, as is my wont.

When discussing why we nap, Henrietta says that napping is ultimately about “owning your personal time and making a conscious decision on using it productively.” That last word — productively — jumps out at me, as it’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately.

We know that Larry David appreciates the fine line between resting and sleeping, I’m curious what he thinks about napping — if it’s true what they say about George Costanza being modeled after him, the smart money is that he likes it.

I’ve spent my entire career providing professional services in corporate America, where I’ve never been short on things to do. As a result, I’ve had to develop ways of managing everything that’s coming at me. I’ve briefly mentioned GTD before — that’s a reference to Getting Things Done, David Allen’s highly influential 2001 book that lays out an extensive system for personal productivity. I read this book in 2010, and to this day, it informs how I approach my various to do’s.

In his his TED Talk, Allen describes GTD as “stress-free.” I haven’t entirely found that to be the case: GTD and life more generally remain stressful. Allen would probably say I’m not doing GTD right, and he’s probably not wrong.

You may be wondering what this has to do with napping. For me, it’s everything. Napping is an important reprieve from the stresses of daily life, of which there are many. I’m going to further unpack this as our NAE series continues.