Numerous one star reviews, irritating meetings with the HR and all that venom you have spit in your office whatsapp group, nothing, absolutely nothing has been useful in reducing those work hours to anything humane. The general and accepted idea in the corporate world of India is that if somebody is paying even a measly salary to their employees, they are entitled to ruin their personal lives. And these companies don’t just stop at extending work hours. They intrude into your Sundays and call you in your wee hours; no matter you are in middle of what! The rant can go on but it would do little to solve this organized exploitation. But while somebody actually pulls some ears, here’s how you can draw that little extra energy for your post-office life from a powerful short nap.
Most people spend about 45 minutes in travelling back home from work. And no matter how comfortable the ride is, nothing about Delhi traffic is relaxing. You may try finding some solace by perching your head on the windows or by just hanging it loose like a pendulum but the effort to grab some rest in this travel time is more exhausting than the day itself, it’s annoying! But perhaps you aren’t spending this time in trying to relax at all. If you are a gossip vulture, you are probably eating people’s heads over how bad your day was. Rather it often grows into a contest –who is working in the worse company? Although you love your gossip you have to get past it to stuff in that time for that super-energizing nap. Use this time to check your notifications, any mails you need to drop, some work calls to be made, Facebook, Instagram, just each of those daemons. Invite them in and tell them in first sharp snap –these 45 minutes are all that you get.
Once you reach home, toss that phone on the sofa, gently. Change, without wasting a minute and hit the bed. But, but before you do that, don’t forget to set an alarm for 45 minutes later. Why 45? That’s the ideal zone between a nap and a deep slumber. The moment you let yourself drift into a long slumber, you would wake up even more exhausted! 45 minutes of nap helps you recharge and keeps your body from switching off.
But what if you don’t immediately fall asleep? With all the crap you carried from the day, it’s very possible that your mind keeps spinning you in a cobweb of unfinished businesses. Don’t panic. Just close your eyes. Lie down straight and relax your body. Shut your mind from all those thoughts. Take comfortable breaths and just relax. Stay patient for the next 45 minutes. Open your eyes only when that annoying alarm bell rings. The after-effect of this elongated rest/meditation is quite similar to a good quality nap.
This nap trick starts working from day one. The moment you wake up you would notice a flow of energy in your body. Your mind is relaxed and you are calm. The chaos you carried from work is now gone. You are ready to share your day with your family or in whatever way you feel suitable. You will notice that the first wave of sleep would also arrive an hour late. So, the time you took out for that nap gets evened out. You have those same hours in your hand but with greater energy and composed mind. It works like miracle. And the fact this needed to be said highlights how lost we are in our routine. We just stop thinking of ways in which we can improve the quality of our life.
