Today I took an off from work to settle something important. Honestly, it could’ve been done in half a day, but I decided to take the full day anyway. At first, it felt a bit “extra,” like I was being too generous to myself. Then I thought about the alternative.
If I went back to the office in the afternoon, there’s a high chance I’d still end up working long hours. And if I’m going to stretch myself to nearly a full shift, what’s the point of taking time off in the first place? Sometimes the smartest move isn’t squeezing productivity out of every remaining hour, it’s protecting your energy so tomorrow doesn’t feel like punishment.
So after finishing what I needed to do, I went home and did something I rarely allow myself to do on a weekday: I rested properly. No rushing. No forcing myself to “maximize” the day. I took a long nap, and when I woke up, I felt like my brain finally had space again. The kind of refresh you can’t really get from a quick break or scrolling on your phone.
There’s a quote by Anne Lamott that I always come back to: “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” That’s exactly what today felt like, an unplugging.
I’m not trying to escape work. I’m trying to show up better for it. And I think this is what balance looks like in real life: knowing when to push, and knowing when to pause.
Link to the source of the image.
