I am as guilty as the next person, trying to finish as much as I can before I go to bed, sometimes bringing my laptop and other reading materials to bed with me. When I’m at my worst, my laptop rests on the floor next to me, I have a stack of books teetering on my nightstand, and I lie awake with thoughts flying through my head as it processes what I just read. Obviously, bringing the office to bed with me does not support a restful sleeping environment and it is not conducive for you either. I’m not saying never bring work to bed with you, but limit what you do bring to your bedside. As busy business owners, we try to be as efficient as possible and yet rested enough so we can produce our best work. So how do we avoid transplanting our offices into our bedrooms but still remain successful?
- Stop thinking you are going to get lots of work done in bed.
- Always keep a notebook and pen nearby (or whatever you need to take a note).
- Only keep the most current reading material near your bed.
If you are not a busy parent, you might get in bed an hour before you need to shut out the lights. However, if you can’t get something done in an hour during the day when you are at your best, why do you think it will magically happen faster and better when you go to bed? If you must take advantage of that extra hour or half-hour before sleep, use it to plan your next day, write out a thank you note, or skim a trade magazine. Don’t do anything that has a deadline of tomorrow in bed you might as well have stayed at your desk doing it.
It is inevitable that as soon as you turn out the light, your brain turns on to start processing everything that happened today and will happen in the future. If you find yourself laying in bed awake because the thoughts in your head are driving you into a panic, then it is time to turn on the light and download your thoughts. By writing out lists, thoughts, and reminders on paper (or a computer/smart phone/etc.), you can relieve the burden from your brain of needing to remember something till morning.
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Don’t treat your nightstand like your inbox. Keeping everything you “should” read/address next to your bed builds a physical monument of your guilt. This does not create a positive or restful environment. Instead, keep only what you will complete that week next to you. At first you’ll be overly optimistic about how large your stack can be. However, at the end of the first week you try this experiment, look at your stack again. How much got done? How much was left? If more than half the stack was left, then you need to make a decision: keep what you have and don’t add anything new, or remove anything that has lost significance/priority so that something can replace it in the stack. Soon, your stack next to your bed will actually be manageable.
By reaffirming the boundaries between your office and the bedroom, you will once again enjoy going to bed. You will no longer be in danger of tripping over a stack of books and your sleep will improve so that when you wake up, you will be able to accomplish more while you are awake. For more tips on organizing your bedside table , visit 30 Minute Organizing: Bedside Table at www.thatsneatorganizing.com
{ 3 comments }
Gabby, what a crazy-good post! I’m a little guilty here … I would never take the laptop up there, but I do often read biz books with highlighter in hand. The problem is that all those good ideas overstimulate me and mess with my sleep! I’ll try the notepad and pen to see if it helps to “download” them onto paper.
Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed it! You will be amazed how much better you sleep after you get your thoughts “backed up” on paper. Plus that notebook by the bed is also good for those who wake up with a bright idea after some good dreaming.
These are some great tips! I am going to start putting a pen and notebook next to my bed because I get so many ideas when going to bed and getting up that I forget later in the day.