Napping tips from Take a Nap! Change Your Life. : The Scientific Plan to Make You Smarter, Healthier, More Productive.

- Remove “nap blockers,” meaning those items associated with work, i.e. a doctor’s stethoscope, a handyman’s tool belt or a student’s textbooks.

- Create a safe nap location. For example, if you are napping in your car make sure the parking lot is secure, and during the summer keep your windows cracked.

- Silence beepers, cellphones and other electronic devices and put your computer into sleep mode. Noise-cancelling devices and ear plugs are also handy for creating a quiet sleeping environment.

- Light inhibits the production of melatonin (the hormone that acts upon the hypothalamus, which causes the brain to switch to sleep mode) and that is why it’s easier to fall asleep in the dark. If it’s not possible to block out light, invest in a sleepmask that covers your eyes.

- Our bodies associate sleep with lying down, but if you can’t find a place to fully recline, at least lean back and make sure your head and limbs are well supported so your body can maintain position as it relaxes. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself doing the head-bob. A yoga mat and a light blanket are also helpful napping tools.

- Lay off the caffeine and nicotine, and watch out for drugs such as those for the common cold containing ephedra.

- And be patient. Napping takes practice, so don’t lose hope the first few times you have trouble falling asleep.

Nearly one in five small business managers read work-related e-mails and other documents while in the bathroom, and 49 percent say they work while driving, according to a new survey commissioned by Staples Inc., the office-supply retailer with headquarters in Framingham.

Survey: 1 in 5 managers read e-mail in the loo – Daily Business Update – The Boston Globe

There’s something to be said for a hand-written greeting, personalized for each employee. It can be a bit of extra work, but Bren gives some good advice that can streamline the process.

• Keep the note to two sentences.
• Be appreciative.
• Consider the personality.
• They’ll compare.
• Get a nice pen.
• Thesaurus.

Read it all: How to write a holiday card to your staff » Slacker Manager

Lack of respect from the organization — rather than job demands or personality — is responsible for employees leaving their organizations, according to a new study from a Wharton management professor.

Human Resource Executive Online – Fueling Employee Burnout

Hence workers pulling into the company’s amenity-packed headquarters at 2 p.m. aren’t considered late. Nor are those pulling out at 2 p.m. seen as leaving early. There are no schedules. No mandatory meetings. No impression-management hustles. Work is no longer a place where you go, but something you do. It’s O.K. to take conference calls while you hunt, collaborate from your lakeside cabin, or log on after dinner so you can spend the afternoon with your kid.

Best Buy smashes the clock – BusinessWeek Online – MSNBC.com.

1. ASK YOUR EMPLOYEES.

2. MAKE IT MULTIDIMENSIONAL.

3. INCLUDE AN OBJECTIVE MEASUREMENT.

4. INCLUDE A SUBJECTIVE MEASUREMENT.

5. DON’T REINVENT THE WHEEL.

6. NO WORKER IS AN ISLAND.

Read the article: 6 ways to measure worker productivity – Business 2.0 November 1, 2006.

When it comes to motivating workers to provide great service, which works better: the carrot or the stick?

The restaurant business, which depends on service more heavily than most other industries, offers a glimpse into how companies juggle rewards and reprimands to motivate employees.

• Positive Approach
• Measuring Performance
• Inherent Skills

Read at WSJ.com StartupJournal | Hiring and Retention

“Many famous, successful people have been using this as their secret tool,” Mednick says. “What I’ve always found is that the CEO is usually the one who’s allowed to nap. It’s a huge leap, I think, for bosses to consider letting employees do the same thing that they do to be productive.”

Those same bosses won’t blink when an employee heads out to grab a cup of coffee to perk up — even though Mednick has found that coffee actually has a slight negative effect on cognitive ability.

TheStar.com – The modern world killed off the nap