I recently came across an article discussing how the
sleep-avoidance market is going to grow immensely in the next
several years. Apparently, drug maker Cephalon already markets a
pill called Modafinil, which not only helps people stay awake for a
day or two, but also prevents the need to "catch up" on sleep when
the dose eventually wears off.
Further research in the area is centered around developing and
testing all sorts of new ways to keep people alert on limited
sleep, and even eliminate the need for natural sleep altogether.
Medicine has certainly come a long way, and potential breakthroughs
like these are amazing. Now I probably don't get the amount of
sleep most physicians would recommend, but fortunately I have used
my "less sleep" approach to my advantage. Because I sleep a bit
less than the average person, I feel I can get more things done on
a daily basis.
I have always felt that hustling and waking up early are
prerequisites to my being successful in the endeavors I pursue.
There is of course much more to the equation than just waking up
early and sleeping less. You must develop processes to achieve your
goals, learning from your mistakes all along the way.
Working hard is fine, but working smart is more likely to help
accelerate your journey to success. Sticking to a career within an
industry in decline may keep you working hard, but it's hardly
working smart. It's scary to be hung up in a place with an unknown
future, so these situations require action sooner than later.
Case in point: I just read the U.S. Postal Service won't be able
to pay a $5.6 billion obligation to pre-fund retiree health
benefits. This marks the second recent default for the embattled
organization - back on Aug. 1, the USPS failed to come up with a
$5.5 billion dollar payment. Now if I were working for the Postal
Service, I'd be making plans for a career change. In fact, I
probably would have been preparing to leave for greener pastures
several years ago. Thinking ahead five to ten years down the line,
who knows what the organization will look like? Once you make the
realization that your job is far from safe, the next step is to
analyze your skill set and think about the next chapter in your
career.
Getting back to the topic of less sleep, more waking time won't
matter very much if it isn't used properly. Personally, I've always
been able to budget my time very well. I make sure to allot plenty
of time for planning my strategies and hitting all the essential
points I need to hit on a daily basis. So you see, success doesn't
necessarily need to come in pill form. Use your time wisely and you
won't need to lose any sleep.
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