Have you ever fallen asleep at work?

It was a season of life that I’ll never forget; just before and after our first son was born. Wow, that was a lot of work! My wife, Nicole, and I were living in Airdrie, Alberta, Canada. I was commuting daily into Calgary, for a full-time sales position within the hospitality industry. I was good at my job, meeting sales targets and receiving bonuses. And yet, the hours were long and hard.

On the homefront, Nicole was pregnant and our first child could arrive any day. And as if all of that wasn’t stressful enough, I was doing night classes at Alberta Bible College to finish my degree. The hope was to move into full-time vocational ministry as soon as possible.

For the record, I can say with certainty; it is not a good idea to pack all these events into one’s life at the same time. Nevertheless, this was life and I was willing to accept it, in order to reach my goal of full-time ministry.

March of 2008 was coming to a close.

Our first son had just been born! It was an incredible experience, as any Dad would admit. I managed to take a full week off to enjoy time with my son and let Nicole rest. But it went by way too quickly!

Soon I was back in the throes of balancing work and school, but there was an added challenge. The limited sleep took a heavier toll than I would have ever anticipated. My previous routine was to get 5 hours of sleep each night, but now, they included a couple of baby wake-ups. It was torture trying to get up and out the door for my daily commute.

My co-workers started to notice the fatigue of work, school, and baby on my face. I was dragging myself to work each day. Coffee seemed to have no effect on my general disposition. My eyes were constantly heavy and I could nod off at any time. Then it happened.

I woke up at my desk in the sales office, drooling on my keyboard.

As I lifted my head, I wiped the saliva from my cheek. I turned to see if anyone had noticed my on-the-clock nap. Sure enough, our Director of Sales was looking right at me and remarked with a grin, “Good morning!” She laughed and said that the General Manager wasn’t in that day, so they decided to let me sleep.

This was kind of her, but now I had two and a half hours of work to catch up on. I called Nicole and told her I’d be coming home late. When the same situation took place the following week, I had to make a change. I had to get more sleep if I was to make it through my work days and still attend night classes.

Thankfully, my amazing wife graciously allowed me to move into the guest room during workdays. Soon I was getting my minimum 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep before heading out the door in the morning. It was a game-changer and I was able to bounce back within a few nights.

Looking back, this was definitely an exhausting time in my life. Falling asleep at my desk helped me realize that something needed to change. To anyone who is currently in this type of situation, take heart and stay the course. Try to think outside the box to get the rest you need without interruption. I promise that it is well worth the hard work!

Join the Conversation; Share Your Thoughts

• How have you experienced a similar situation of sleep deprivation affecting your work?
• What solution did you find to bring back your productivity and well-being?
• What advice would you give to others facing a similar challenge of balancing work, personal life, and sleep?