Do you have trouble sleeping at night? Is the problem actually getting to sleep or getting away from your work long enough to get the rest you need? Have you experienced a time lapse between stating, “I just have one last thing to do before I go to bed,” and when you go to sleep? This is similar to the exhaustive practice of logging into our online work platforms. Do you feel trapped in time while logging in with multiple passwords?

SLEEP AUTHENTICATION AND AUDIT

Has the two-step authentication prompt reshaped your online login process? The safety and security measures we endure to log in to online accounts keep getting longer. Accessing remote work or preferred social media causes many to be at the mercy of the two-factor authentication process. And don’t forget your all-important password sequence; you might be requesting password assistance repeatedly and going in circles with your email provider. This strain on time and process is also evident when analyzing sleep patterns and work productivity. What is your log-off process from your online work life? How do you unplug? When do you say that enough is enough for the night? Read on for tips to audit and adjust your sleep to increase productivity.

SLEEP PATTERNS

Check your sleep patterns. My sleep patterns were a part of the late-night, Las Vegas all-nighter tendencies that I became accustomed to. One of my unhealthy habits included working on the computer until my eyes fell asleep. This is where a shift happened for me recently. Like many, I work from home. I found that I used to leave my 9-5 job and not think much about it at home.

Working for yourself at home doesn’t have that same “leave it at the office” perk. Turning work off isn’t as simple as turning off my phone or logging off of my computer. The constant struggle for me is the ideas fluttering around in my head that are exciting. They make me want to rush to my phone to conduct a Google search to see if my idea is in the marketplace. 

There are plenty of sleep aids to assist you in getting to sleep. They include apps like Calm, Noisli, or Rise. For me, it isn’t about getting to sleep or even the interrupted sleep patterns. My sleep deprivation is self-imposed. If you are like me, I am a creator and love to innovate. My willingness to go to sleep was at the heart of my sleepless nights. In the last month, I finally permitted myself to go to sleep. It was like a heart-to-heart that I had with myself. This is where the two-step sleep authentication was born.

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF EACH NIGHT

Ask yourself to authenticate with these questions. I ask myself two questions each night as I’m tapping away on my keyboard after my little girls have gone to bed:

1. Can you create something brilliant at this very moment?
2. Will continuing with this project now allow you to be fresh tomorrow morning?
3. How many hours of sleep do you need each night before lack of sleep leads to poor quality of work and life?

These two questions aren’t my username and password because those would be automatically entered with an enthusiastic, YES! These two questions are the dreaded, “A security code has been sent to your mobile phone.” This will give you the space to step back to authenticate your self-care and validate the value of sleep.

Posing these questions to myself, I force myself to own a truth I do not want to acknowledge. Am I going to do my best work when tired? Probably not. If I continue, will I be at my best for the work on my schedule for tomorrow? The honesty required in these answers is no different than the accuracy needed to log in to a two-step authentication process.

HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY

Be honest with yourself. Getting real about my sleep pattern is one of the hardest things I’ve had to do. As a creator, mom, business owner, and human being, it is necessary to take a hard look at my sleep patterns. Honestly, getting some necessary rest is one of my most liberating tasks. I can say that acknowledging the truth in my log-off process has allowed me to permit myself to unplug. And the best part about logging off is that I am getting some of my best sleep yet.

Finding your two-step authentication process may be your key to unlocking a good night’s rest. Sign up for the College of Style Newsletter for more Productivity tips at this LINK.