Do you ever catch yourself yawning constantly throughout the day, distracted and unable to focus for more than a few hours a day? Or feel stagnant when you’re at work counting down the hours until you’re off so you finally start pursuing what YOU want?

I get it. We all need money… but honestly, NO price could ever compensate for your sanity.

TAKE THE DAY OFF.

Sure weekends work great, but they simply aren’t enough. In fact, weekends simply depict calendar days where you don’t have to work. It doesn’t necessarily mean taking a day OFF entirely. I mean, who’s to determine when your body will tell you it’s time to take a step back and reflect? This is usually unpredictable and could be a result of what you’ve been feeling lately – stuck somewhere battling passion versus plateau.

The truth is, we’re all exhausted here. We’re exhausted with the mundane routines, the never-ending scrolling screens, the obsession we have with trying to be healthy, etc. We yawn, we take a nap, load up on caffeine, and then expect to feel better… but what happens when that nap or caffeine doesn’t suffice?

A few weeks ago, I remember waking up at 5am for work when I said to myself, “Not today.” I don’t usually take days off, so when I do, it truly means I’m listening to my body because I NEED IT. You don’t have to be physically drained to do it; the mental exhaustion should be enough for you to initiate turning the switch off 100%.

How many of you can honestly say that amid the 40+ hours you commit a week to work, you’re allocating a solid amount of hours towards your own goals? You work a 9-5, you head to the gym, you come home, get lost in the digital world, and then you do it again and again and again…

And then you feel guilty for somewhat “losing” sight of your own goals and dreams. You become discouraged.

DON’T. The realization of “loss” itself is proof that you merely need to rekindle that flame inside of you. It’s perfectly normal to lose ourselves in this routine; just don’t get sucked into it every single day.

Taking the day off is perfect to…

• Reboot and recharge
• Shift your focus
• Promote a well-rounded schedule (your brain will love you!)

Not many people take advantage of days off. Society often prides itself on the “go, go, go” mentality that we live our lives centered around #NoDaysOff, and you know – I get the hustle but what good is the hustle if we overwork ourselves until there’s no more room to create? If you ask me, that does not yield optimal results.

We’re draining ourselves dry of this creative flow. TAKE A BREAK. LIVE A LITTLE. While it’s fun to create, it’s important to consume. Learn to balance the ratio.

You don’t have to wait for a “vacation” to be mentally away. In fact, staycations are my favorite. While I wasn’t at a local hotel soaking in the sun, I did take the day off from work to readjust my focus and to reshift my energy. I hate to be querulous, but man oh man – sometimes, a day off paves the way to a huge breather. I recharged by going to the gym, brainstormed blog posts, did absolutely nothing… and I was FINE with it.

Quick tip from my optometrist (hello Dr. Wang!) – learn to just… chill.

Funny story. I was telling him about my horrendous drive from LA to Long Beach and then back again.. 5x a week. And I then proceeded to tell him that I listen to podcasts to maximize my potential throughout the day. My exact quote: “I just don’t want to be mindlessly driving around for 1.5 hour 5x a week when I could be learning something.”

His response? “That’s great, but why not just put on some music and just chill?”

And then it hit me. WOW.

I’m guilty of doing this too – trust me and I’m working on it – but why do we constantly expect SO DAMN MUCH of ourselves?

We think that every minute of our days, we ought to be doing something to grow.

Did it ever come across your mind that sometimes, doing nothing is part of the growth? How else do we expect to “recover?” Isn’t it during these quiet moments where we sometimes unveil the best ideas?

Moral of this post – don’t feel guilty for being bored of your mundane routine + don’t be too hard on yourself for wanting a lazy day. In fact, I encourage all lazy days. If we’re constantly trying to do something at every waking hour of every single day, we would only be depriving ourselves of what we’re meant to do and be. If we spend all day on Netflix because we INTENDED on doing so, enjoy your day’s worth of binge-watching. You’re conditioned to do something until completion (basically when the day ends!). So next time, you’re penciling in hectic schedules on your calendar, be sure to pencil in a “day off” day too 😉

Love yourself enough to be able to indulge in nothing – and be perfectly okay with it.