It’s hard for me to say this with a straight face after working 23 hours straight, or maybe that’s exactly where this is coming from, but either way it’s extremely important to get enough sleep each night to keep your mind productive. Over the holiday’s I’ve been surrounded with hardworking front line employees that are coasting by on only a handful of hours of sleep each night. Between coming in early and staying late each day they are mindlessly drifting through the day. As much as I appreciate their dedication to their work and being a member of the team, their exhaustion is slowing down productivity all around.
I know that I’m just as guilty as they are. Usually I go to bed early when I know I’m in early, but I also know that I’m willing to offer up my services for insanely long shifts at times just so that I don’t pass up the opportunity. As a manager, it’s important to stay focused, attentive, and productive so that I am of assistance to those that are working around me. We all have lives outside of work, but it is important to ensure that they don’t cross into our work lives.
Once you walk through the door at work, at any level of the corporate ladder, it’s important to leave all outside situations at the threshold despite how difficult that might be. Distractions, even those caused by exhaustion, keep you from truly bringing your best to the table and could cause a lapse in judgement that in some industries could be hazardous to safety. While I sit here yawning as I type, I can’t help but think how this is a “do what I say and not what I do” moment and that I am sounding a little too much like my mother at the moment. On that scary note, I urge you to keep your mind as productive as possible by getting enough sleep as it will mean only the best for you, your loved ones, and the team you work with.