Tony Schwartz has an article on Harvard Business Review titled: “Why Companies Should Insist that Employees Take Naps“.
For be it from me to argue with Tony on the content of his article. I’ve noticed the benefits of napping as a tool to increase productivity myself and probably would take way more of them if I was better at time management.
However, I do have to raise an eyebrow at the soundness of mind behind a suggestion that while at work…
If you work in a cubicle, see if you can find a quiet space for your nap, even if it means leaving the building and taking your nap on a park bench, at a Starbucks or in a local library.
The emphasis was, of course, mine.
Seriously Tony, I have no idea where you live, but I would love to visit the utopia where I can go sleep on a park bench and not get hassled by police (it’s illegal in some places), pick pocketed, robbed (not necessarily by the police), or any of a hundred other unsavory things.
For those of you who may actually try Tony’s suggestion eHow has a guide to sleeping on a park bench (both day an night time) that includes this little tip:
Carry a small pocketknife or a can of mace for self-defense. Only sleep on a bench if it is your last resort.
Paul O'Flaherty 