Turn on, Tune In, Burn Out

“I’m good. Just been busy.”

If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard that phrase or said it myself I’d be retired and sipping a cocktail in the Maldives already.

Alas, I am not retired.

Just tired. Mentally and emotionally. Which has translated into some very fun physical manifestations.

The past couple of weeks I’ve been consumed with near daily vet appointments, my own medical issues, and rising debt due to vet appointments. Doing all these things while still trying to be a productive human at my 40-hour a week job.

The one thing that has struck me lately amidst all the personal chaos is the guilt. Primarily, the guilt I have felt in my professional life.

All because I took two days off. Two. Whole. Days.

Where does this guilt come from? From the glorification of being busy.

As a society, we’ve crafted the 40-hour (or more) work week and segmented our days into 8 -hour shifts by design.

I’m not here to debate the effectiveness of such a schedule, I’m cogitating on the fact that I don’t believe humans were meant to be so regimented.

We shouldn’t feel guilty for taking time off to take care of things, to rest after an illness or to take a mental health day. We are not super human and the notion that we need to hustle harder than everyone else in order to simply live is a false narrative.

These are just the opinions of one burnt out, overly caffeinated and languishing individual.

To live means to be present in our daily lives. To experience joy, to take that drive to the beach, mountains or wherever the road leads you and take time for yourself. The work will always be there. Waiting.

We are not what we do. We are not meant to just be “busy”. We need to make more time for ourselves to find out what we like to do for fun, spend time getting to know ourselves and others and to thrive during this time we are given.

Survival mode is 0/10 – I do not recommend and I am actively taking it one step at a time in getting back to thriving in my own life and not feeling bogged down by the work that I do.

I’d rather spend time sitting on my balcony, drinking coffee and watching Mr. Buckley explore his surroundings without a care in the world. We could learn a thing or two from cats.

Enjoy your Sunday.

Until then.