David Ogilvy, the advertising legend who brought genuine emotion and classic salesmanship to Madison Avenue, wrote about the value of naps to a writer. He didn’t mean not being tired, but using the power of your unconscious – his trick was to upload information about a project… and then catch forty winks, telling his mind to have something for him when he woke up
It made sense to me. Your brain is not a muscle, it is a complex beast unlike any other organ on the planet. It can store, process, and create massive amounts of source material… whole worlds of possibilities, vast universes of thoughts and ideas.
Believe me, for copywriters and marketers… naps are gold. I’ve done it a thousand times, maybe more, over twenty years as a writer. Fill my head with information… and then take a nap for as long as my system requires. Twenty minutes or two hours, it doesn’t matter.
And when I wake up, I make sure I’ve left a pen and paper nearby…because the headlines and copy will come pouring out.
While you are awake, and especially when you are struggling with ideas, you are your own worst enemy.
Asleep, however, our deeper selves take over.
It is the true hidden genius within all of us: our unconscious mind.
You can do the data fill while you are tired. That’s more or less hard work: reading reports, recording statistics, interviewing people on the phone.
But you should never actually try to write while suppressing a yawn. For an experienced copywriter and salesperson, being tired is a sign that it’s time to take a long break, including a nap. Let things simmer, settle and process in your head.
Tired, he’ll struggle with the copy for three hours… and it won’t be as good as the fifteen minutes of writing he gets after an hour-long nap.
Doubt this advice if necessary. Most struggling writers I know are skeptical and afraid to try. The Puritan work ethic has become deeply ingrained in our souls, and naps are considered a waste of time at best…and an evil escape at worst. I’ve had writers laugh at the suggestion. However, never the best.
Your brain is not a muscle. It’s more like a fantastic little town of libraries, stores, and study centers. And all the elves who are enslaved there are smarter than you…and yet completely devoted to you.
Most of the writing that you struggle to create while you’re tired will have to be thrown away. It will be garbage.
Most of the writing I’ve captured after a “work nap” has been left, with some editing, in my final piece.
Think about it.
Now, I’m going to cuddle up with the terrier and let the goblins think of another project for me.
