As I’ve grown older it’s become a lot easier for me to tell when I’m in desperate need of a break. Apathy sets in and every task feels tedious, boring, and nearly impossible to finish. I’ve had a lot of experience, but to be clear, it took living through a deadly pandemic, starting talk therapy, and medication for me to be able to identify the signals of slowly burning out.

The best way I can describe my mindset when I get this way is that I’m mad at everything, and I don’t want to do anything. I’ve felt this way all week, so yesterday I took a personal day to rest and recharge. I spent the day doing nothing. I laid on the couch for five to six hours, pet my dogs, watched a couple of movies and YouTube videos, ate pizza, and then went to bed early. No laptop, no productivity, just rest and purposeful distractions.

I feel like a different person today. I was able to get a wonderful night’s sleep which is also crucial for a reset. This morning when I sat down at my computer everything seemed clear, I felt motivated, and was more productive than I have been for quite a while. I recognize the privilege of being able to take a last-minute day off to do nothing, but if you occasionally get to feeling this way too, it’s ok to take a day off every once in a while.