{"id":4648,"date":"2019-09-15T18:46:08","date_gmt":"2019-09-15T18:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/?p=4648"},"modified":"2021-02-17T17:01:27","modified_gmt":"2021-02-17T17:01:27","slug":"balance-in-life-my-friend-des-sleep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/balance-in-life-my-friend-des-sleep\/","title":{"rendered":"Balance in Life – My Friend Des: Sleep"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

So I get home from the Proclaimers around midnight last Saturday. With \u2018500 miles\u2019<\/a> in my head. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I head straight for bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s 1.15am before I get to sleep. Helped in no small measure by several \u2018streams of nonsense-ness\u2019 on my phone. Like at one point, around ten-to-one, I’m on the verge of booking flights and tickets to see The National<\/a> in Cologne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mean like, come on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wake up very tired and annoyed with myself the next day. It\u2019s like the characters of Inside Out<\/a> are moshing to Smells Like Teen Spirit<\/a> in my mind. Only Joy has left the building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This tiredness could have been avoided, surely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Downstairs I\u2019m staring into and stirring a simmering saucepan\nof porridge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A conversation with Des<\/a> a couple of weeks back ago comes to mind. He\u2019d mentioned to me that he\u2019s been sleeping great recently. He\u2019s leaving his phone downstairs at night. And he\u2019s got some sleep friendly alarm clock<\/a> on the go now too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He says that he\u2019s been sharper and more productive at work as a result. Able to make better decisions. All in all, he feels much better in general for it.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even with the haze of sleep deprivation clouding my mind, I know that it makes absolute sense to give it a shot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The porridge starts to bubble over. I turn off the hob.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So here I am a week later. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And d\u2019you know what, Des is right. I\u2019ve been sleeping well\nall week. I have the alarm clock on the go now too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have been feeling good during the days. I\u2019m definitely more focussed too, like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Someone said to me during the week that your phone in your bedroom is like having your most energetic, excitable friend sitting on your bedside locker. As soon as they see you stirring at all, they see their chance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their like, \u2018come here, are you awake? I just want to show you this one thing on Twitter there, mad stuff altogether.\u2019 And then their off. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ‘stream of nonsense-ness\u2019 begins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m really glad knowing that I\u2019m leaving my phone – my\nenergetic buddy – downstairs tonight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fair play to Des for the tip. He\u2019s some man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

D\u2019you know sometimes, jokingly, I wonder to myself, is Des God?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I might text him that for the craic and ask him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Actually, d\u2019you know, I might leave my phone down another while instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

————<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acknowledgement:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This blog is part fact and at times part fiction, for effect.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Des, of course, is not real. He is however the real embodiment of three of the most important factors to balance in life and work.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal of these posts is to inspire you to maintain a metaphorical friendship with the gift in life that is Des.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

————<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have any feedback on this post or would like to know more about the work Inspo does, please contact john@inspo.ie<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So I get home from the Proclaimers around midnight last Saturday. With \u2018500 miles\u2019 in my head. I head straight for bed. It’s 1.15am before I get to sleep. Helped in no small measure by several \u2018streams of nonsense-ness\u2019 on my phone. Like at one point, around ten-to-one, I’m on the verge of booking flights […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nBalance in Life - My Friend Des: Sleep - INSPO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/balance-in-life-my-friend-des-sleep\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Balance in Life - My Friend Des: Sleep - INSPO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"So I get home from the Proclaimers around midnight last Saturday. With \u2018500 miles\u2019 in my head. I head straight for bed. It’s 1.15am before I get to sleep. Helped in no small measure by several \u2018streams of nonsense-ness\u2019 on my phone. Like at one point, around ten-to-one, I’m on the verge of booking flights […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/balance-in-life-my-friend-des-sleep\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"INSPO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-09-15T18:46:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-02-17T17:01:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"John Slattery\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"John Slattery\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/balance-in-life-my-friend-des-sleep\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/balance-in-life-my-friend-des-sleep\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"John Slattery\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/#\/schema\/person\/ee395c2c5c03be53f1a63c2cc884d31f\"},\"headline\":\"Balance in Life – My Friend Des: Sleep\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-09-15T18:46:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-02-17T17:01:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/balance-in-life-my-friend-des-sleep\/\"},\"wordCount\":509,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/#organization\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/balance-in-life-my-friend-des-sleep\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/balance-in-life-my-friend-des-sleep\/\",\"name\":\"Balance in Life - My Friend Des: Sleep - INSPO\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-09-15T18:46:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-02-17T17:01:27+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/balance-in-life-my-friend-des-sleep\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/balance-in-life-my-friend-des-sleep\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/balance-in-life-my-friend-des-sleep\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Balance in Life – My Friend Des: Sleep\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/\",\"name\":\"INSPO\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/#organization\",\"name\":\"INSPO\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/INSPO-LOGO-White.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/INSPO-LOGO-White.png\",\"width\":256,\"height\":100,\"caption\":\"INSPO\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/#\/schema\/person\/ee395c2c5c03be53f1a63c2cc884d31f\",\"name\":\"John Slattery\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5d35b67c18d431fb85f0b9cf885e564c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5d35b67c18d431fb85f0b9cf885e564c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"John Slattery\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/author\/jw3-inspo-ie\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Balance in Life - My Friend Des: Sleep - INSPO","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/balance-in-life-my-friend-des-sleep\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Balance in Life - My Friend Des: Sleep - INSPO","og_description":"So I get home from the Proclaimers around midnight last Saturday. With \u2018500 miles\u2019 in my head. I head straight for bed. It’s 1.15am before I get to sleep. Helped in no small measure by several \u2018streams of nonsense-ness\u2019 on my phone. Like at one point, around ten-to-one, I’m on the verge of booking flights […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/balance-in-life-my-friend-des-sleep\/","og_site_name":"INSPO","article_published_time":"2019-09-15T18:46:08+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-02-17T17:01:27+00:00","author":"John Slattery","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"John Slattery","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/balance-in-life-my-friend-des-sleep\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/balance-in-life-my-friend-des-sleep\/"},"author":{"name":"John Slattery","@id":"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/#\/schema\/person\/ee395c2c5c03be53f1a63c2cc884d31f"},"headline":"Balance in Life – My Friend Des: Sleep","datePublished":"2019-09-15T18:46:08+00:00","dateModified":"2021-02-17T17:01:27+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/balance-in-life-my-friend-des-sleep\/"},"wordCount":509,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/#organization"},"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/balance-in-life-my-friend-des-sleep\/","url":"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/balance-in-life-my-friend-des-sleep\/","name":"Balance in Life - My Friend Des: Sleep - INSPO","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-09-15T18:46:08+00:00","dateModified":"2021-02-17T17:01:27+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/balance-in-life-my-friend-des-sleep\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/balance-in-life-my-friend-des-sleep\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/balance-in-life-my-friend-des-sleep\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Balance in Life – My Friend Des: Sleep"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/","name":"INSPO","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/#organization","name":"INSPO","url":"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/INSPO-LOGO-White.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/INSPO-LOGO-White.png","width":256,"height":100,"caption":"INSPO"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/#\/schema\/person\/ee395c2c5c03be53f1a63c2cc884d31f","name":"John Slattery","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5d35b67c18d431fb85f0b9cf885e564c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5d35b67c18d431fb85f0b9cf885e564c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"John Slattery"},"url":"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/author\/jw3-inspo-ie\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4648"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4648"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4648\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inspo.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}