When I was working at BarkScent, I’d find myself nodding off at my desk every day after lunch.
No matter how hard I tried to fight it, I couldn’t resist the sudden urge to close my eyes at my desk for a few seconds. And since most pups took a later lunch than I did, the office was extremely quiet around this time. I’d find my eyes would get heavier and heavier. I’d even caught myself sleeping at my desk a few times.
That’s what happens when you’re working full time and building a pup business at the same time.
It’s not just the reduced amount of sleep, but it’s the intensity of working on two major projects at one time. It’s a constant juggling act. My pup brain was (and honestly still is) always working. So, when I got a few quiet moments to myself, it was easy to close my eyes to catch a few extra z’s.
I wasn’t the only pup that seemed to nod off at their desk from time to time. I’ve caught a plenty of pups trying to disguise themselves as working, when they’re really trying to catch up on the lack of sleep they got the night before.
One of my former co-pups would go as far as booking a conference room during his lunch break specifically to take a nap. Many pups thought he was working, but he was really taking a nap the whole time. I’m amazed that he never got caught, or I guess I should say amazed they let him get away with it.
When I left Scent and became a full-time pup business owner, I was just as busy as I was when I was working in “Cor-puperate” America.” I started getting up earlier and going to bed much later. I was so busy that I became much more regimented about developing my daily schedule. It kept me organized and on target.
I made sure I woke up at a certain time and went to bed at a certain hour. I incorporated a real workout schedule and only took meetings during the time of day when my humans weren’t home. Can you imagine trying to have an important bark-versation or pup business meeting with your human yelling “stop barking” in the background? I’d never be able to run an efficient pup business meeting that way.
I also got really detailed about how I needed to spread out my work. I realized that any real brainstorming or pup content I had to produce needed to be done in the morning. My little pup brain was more creative then. So, I’d block off my mornings for content production.
Since thinking after lunch was almost impossible, I kept non-thinking activities such as baking pupcakes for the afternoon. It made my day run a lot smoother. I also felt more efficient in getting things done.
While organizing my schedule, the reality of being able to create my own schedule really set in and, so, I decided to build a nap into it. You read that right…a nap. In the words of Bozoma Saint John in the Tim Ferris book Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the World…
There’s no conundrum that a 20-minute nap can’t help me unpack.
So, every day I’d give myself 20-30 minutes to take a quick power nap. I was amazed how much a power nap boosted my energy and allowed me to finish off the day fresh. And, when I was feeling a little overwhelmed, a little power nap could help me refocus.
In the beginning phases of my pup business, I felt a little guilty when I took some time for myself. There always seemed to be work that needed to get done. However, I’ve learned that work will always be there and if you’re too tired or drained to complete it that’s no good for your pup business either.
These daily power naps became my initial stand for investing in my own self-care. They became the basis for not feeling like I needed to put my pup business before taking care of myself. And, I’ve noticed this one small act of power napping has made my mind a lot clear and my pup business much stronger.
These Peanut Butter Pupcakes With Carob Peanut Butter Cream Frosting are dedicated to inducting ourselves onto #TeamPowerNaps.
And of course, we believe that every pupcake has a love story. So, while your favorite pup is PUPPY LOVIN’ on these pupcakes, we’d love to hear from you.
Are you #TeamPowerNaps? How do power naps help you stay more focused?
Please share your pupcake story in the box below.
Checkout the recipe below
After you’ve tried this recipe please share it with us @pupcakesugar on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or all three. We’d love to see how they turned out for you.
Yields
- 10 – 12 Mini Pupcakes
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Pupcakes
- 1/2 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1/3 Cup Plain Yogurt
- 3 Tablespoons Creamy Peanut Butter (unsalted with no added sugars)
- 1 Egg
Carob Peanut Butter Cream Frosting
- 1/4 Cup Carob Powder
- 3 Tablespoons Plain Yogurt
- 2 Tablespoons Creamy Peanut Butter (unsalted with no added sugars)
Instructions
For Peanut Butter Pupcakes
- 1Preheat oven to 350° F. Line 10 – 12 1.75-inch mini-muffin pan with paper bake cups and set aside.
- 2In small bowl mix together, flour and baking powder. Set aside.
- 3In a large mixing bowl add olive oil, yogurt, peanut butter and egg. Beat on medium speed about 2 minutes or until combined.
- 4Add dry ingredients into the mixture and blend for approximately 2 minutes until well mixed.
- 5Fill each cupcake liner with 1 tablespoon of pupcake mix.
- 6Bake pupcakes for 12 minutes. Pupcakes are done when you can stick a toothpick into the cake and it comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack.
- 7Spread or pipe carob peanut butter cream frosting onto the pupcakes.
For Carob Peanut Butter Cream Frosting
- 1In large mixing bowl beat carob powder, yogurt and peanut butter together on medium speed. Mix until creamy.
- 2Spread or pipe carob peanut butter cream frosting onto the pupcakes.
Notes
Pupcake Sugar in no way provides any warranty, express or implied, relating to any recipes on this website. The recipes are based on Sugar’s personal experiences with them. Please be aware that your pup may have allergies or other conditions that may make the recipes not suitable for their lifestyle— consult with your vet as needed or roll with your judgment as the pet parent in charge. Pupcake Sugar is not liable for upset tummies or any other outcomes of experimenting with our recipes on this site.
