Here’s a crazy idea: you are allowed to take time off
If you are building something that is important to you it is unlikely that anyone around you is telling you the following:
It’s OK to go on holiday.
It’s OK to take a weekend off.
It’s OK to go to the beach or to snowboard or to take a long walk without your phone.
It’s OK to have dinner with your spouse.
It’s OK to walk your dogs at 5pm.
It’s OK to go to gym.
Here’s a big one for you: It’s OK to not work.
There are gaps between the hours that you work where the magic happens. If you never stop working, the magic might never happen. Your brain will never look at the task at hand from a different angle.
Stop feeling guilty because you are about to take a break, ask for leave, go on a weekend retreat or leave work to get home to make dinner. Take the time you need to get your mind right and to distance yourself from your work and colleagues. The problems aren’t going to go away. The work is never going to stop. The emails are always going to arrive in your inbox.
Working longer, sleeping less, training less, eating more take-out and isolating yourself from the smart, caring and engaged people in your life is the worst thing you can do.
Trust me, it’s OK to take a break.
Photo by Alexandra Gorn on Unsplash