How to really take time off
Oh, hi friends!
My mind and body are on vacation, and yours might be too, if you’re in the U.S. This is a good thing!
My friend Stacey tweeted the other day, “Not working until Tuesday <raising hands emoji> While PTO is one of the few things I miss about having a staff job, I’m learning to gift myself time off as a #freelancer.”
I also haven’t had paid time off since my last staff job in 2012 (that’s…a long time!) and have worked through more holidays and weekends than I’d care to admit.
But Stacey makes an excellent suggestion: You can still gift yourself time off.
It’s very hard to do, but you can take time away — yes, even if you’re not getting paid — and come back more refreshed and ready to go. And less resentful, too. Because it never feels good to tell yourself, “I can’t do [this fun thing] until I do [this work thing]” — and then end up doing neither one. You'll find yourself back at your desk on Tuesday either way.
So if you can get away, please enjoy yourself.
And if you’re working, I hope it comes easy for you.
See you back here (at my desk!) on Tuesday.
“Shoulds often are the death of creativity and creative expression. Shoulds are the judgmental, nagging inner voice telling you: You should be doing more, generating more, producing more. Shoulds are watching while you’re scrolling through Insta and whispering: You should be doing that, too. You should be and you’re not. What is wrong with you?
Shoulds are guilt. Shoulds don’t motivate; they paralyze.
Shoulds are not what you want but what you think you should want.
In my case, the shoulds got to me. And I pushed back. I didn’t go to the classes, because they were shoulds and not what I wanted to do — not really.”
I keep coming back to this great article by Sloane Miller (which kindly mentions me!), and it feels especially relevant this weekend. Let’s not be consumed by the “should do this.” Do what compels you instead.
And if you’re looking for a fun escape, the BBC miniseries Little Dorritt, based on the Dickens novel, is available for streaming on Amazon Prime. Claire Foy before she was the queen! Matthew Macfadyen before he was Tom Wambsgans! Just don't ask me to explain the ending to you (you'll see what I mean).
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You can also support my work by checking out my motivational journal, Do It For Yourself, designed to guide you through your creative and work projects.
Thanks, as always, for reading.
Love, Kara