The only thing you can do when you fail is to try again. Here goes take 2 of publishing a short piece every day.
This super short article has been written while sleep deprived and jet lagged. Consider it a warm-up with better content coming soon.
It's hard being creative when tired. Fun fact: It's the activity that suffers most when you are sleep deprived. Of course, I'm not finding the scientific study about it. As so often, search is broken. But I found this:
Short naps of less than 30 minutes help with cognitive performance and memory. Tasks like remembering your shopping list, budgeting, or meal prep. The idea that napping increases creativity is linked to the Edison method of napping. It's nothing mind-blowing and also attributed to Alexander the Great. I'm flabbergasted that you can call something the Edison method while also attributing it to someone who died more than 1000 years ago (323 in case you are itching to know)
The idea behind this not so revolutionary napping method is to not fall into a deep sleep. How do you make sure you sleep without drifting into deep sleep? You hold an object in your hand and sit comfortable. When you enter deep sleep your muscle relax and you drop the object. The noise will startle you. Now you just need self-discipline to not turn around and fall back asleep.
What I often did when traveling many hours is to have an expresso and then nap. Coffee takes 20 minutes to energize you. In that way, I'll wake up before drifting off. Also, instead of relying on an object to fall out of my hand, I used an alarm clock. No need to break stuff or lie in an awkward position so that you can drop an object on the floor.
