Sleep in the New Age of Asynchronous Remote Work

Covid-19 forced the world to experience the various costs and benefits of remote work on a massive scale. It also sharpened the focus on asynchronous communication — the idea that teams can work together on complex projects without needing to interrupt each other’s focus.

This combination of remote work and asynchronous communication (or asynchronous remote work) offers an attractive solution to the global sleep deprivation epidemic that is costing us so dearly.

We’ve all experienced that afternoon energy dip where our productivity plummets together with our resistance to temptation. Asynchronous remote work can allow many of us to honor this natural feature of our circadian rhythm with an enjoyable little siesta.

I did an interesting experiment with afternoon napping during the pandemic. The results were very positive: a nap gave me two more hours of productivity on any given day without any conscious effort :-)

After this experiment, I’m convinced that this is the way the human mind is supposed to function. If you have the opportunity, I strongly encourage you to give it a try!

Have an HHWPS weekend!

Schalk