But here's the catch: we could all use a day off. I am by no means overworked but my work brain is always on. I have dreams about emails and phone calls I need to make in the following days. Emails pop up on my computer in the bottom right hand corner of the computer screen. Weirdly enough, that's the exact location of where the email notifications show up in my dreams too. I have nightmare-esque dreams where insurance illustrations come to life and the numbers attack (think mutant contagious virus except with thousands of dollars). Unsurprisingly I am not sleeping well either.
I'm blessed with a flexible schedule and when a bout of the stomach bug hit yesterday morning I was able to stay home and not do much. It was great: I briefly checked my email at 10:30am when I finally left the couch and then didn't touch my computer the rest of the day. My day off was great. Sure I have weekends where I am not formally working but I usually have my eyes and ears open to look for potential clients: at the dog park, at church, shopping around town. I'm always on. Yesterday, there were no expectations. The morning was spent stuck on the couch feeling less than stellar. But the early afternoon was full of efficiency: I washed all my rugs, swept the floors and washed them, made a trip to the grocery store and bought supplies to make a tie blanket. I was mentally turned off. These were all things I wanted to get done this week but doing them at my leisure instead of in hurried frenzy before my parents come to town Saturday made me feel much more at ease. I had no desire to see if anyone emailed me. My phone was with me all day so I know that no one called me. The separation was refreshing and rejuvenating. The disconnect brought me a renewed set of energy.
Burnout is not some myth: I see it in people all the time. I worry about young people in particular. We carry more debt (student loans) than any generation before but aren't making that much more money for a starting income than previous generations. I know of recent grads working two or three jobs to afford the lifestyle they would like. Except they don't have the free time to spend the money they have earned. On the flip side there are other grads working their butts off putting in 60+ hours a week making minimum wage; or worse, they are salaried low and the expectation is for them to do it all and work all the hours possible. It's a vicious cycle of work and free time and money available. There often feels like no end is in sight.
You were designed to have breaks in your schedule. You need recharge time. I don't know how many people I know that don't use their vacation time to their advantage; they are also the first complain about feeling overwhelmed and overworked. Use the time you are granted and take that PTO. I am not advocating for people to call in every time they feel even the slightest bit not okay but take a mental health day here and there for your own sanity.
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