All-nighters just aren’t what they use to be

In college I would routine skip a night of sleep at least one day every couple of weeks. I would spend the time cramming for exams, taking a road trip, or just hanging out with friends.

Now, at age 45, an all-nighter is only called for when I have a raging case of insomnia (seldom), one of the kids is sick or I have unexpected work demands.

This past weekend, I worked an overnight shift unexpectedly. I hadn’t seen it coming and I hadn’t rested ahead of time.

I’ve wrote before that some theorize that the older we get the more our true personalities are displayed. I am now certain that a lack of sleep only serves to make any personality flaw more pronounced. Take the last couple of days for example.

I’m forgetful. I’m prone to having my head in the clouds, not really paying attention to the immediate but thinking of the “what ifs.” This past week, my sleep deprived state multiplied that side of my personality a thousand times.

I, along with three of my public relations friends were set to give a 30 minutes presentation to our peers at a monthly meeting in Springfield. I had worked on the PowerPoint presentation for the last couple of weeks and was pretty proud of the finished product. I double-checked that our presentation looked good on screen. I made sure the projector was charged, all the cables packed and the lens clean. I double-checked that our presentation, saved on a flash-drive was in a secure place in the case.

Everything was packed and checked. We had only to drive to Springfield to wow our colleagues with our expertise. Unfortunately I failed to check that I had placed the projector case and presentation drive in the car until we were half-way to our destination.

I was in a panic, but was reassured by my friends that I had indeed packed the case. Holding up a small, black bag, they waved it from the back seat so I could see it in the rearview mirror. Reassured, I drove the rest of the way to our meeting location, confident that it was only my lack of sleep that was messing with my sense of security.

That is until I took the case from my friends and instantly recognized that I was holding my lunchbox. Believe me, the shock of being an hour away from home without our presentation woke me up.

Ironically enough our presentation was on crisis management and responding to the blizzard this past winter. We decided to “wing it” and just talked with the group about our experiences and lessons learned.

Like all good terrifying lessons. I’ll not soon forget this one.