Friday Things // 06.17.2022

The one making the case for taking a day off.

Jun 17, 2022

People on the sand at Hermosa Beach, California.

Sunday night, I made a last minute decision to take the next day (aka Monday) off from work. Mental Health Monday, if you will.

I have been feeling burnt out (as I talked about at length last week 🫠) and have plenty of vacation time accumulated, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to cash some in.

There should be an asterisk after that sentence, though, because I “figured it wouldn’t hurt” only after I overanalyzed the decision for longer than was probably necessary.

If I’m being totally honest here, I’d let you know that I hemmed and hawed about this decision. I thought about it all day, kept rechecking my work calendar and made excuses about meetings that “couldn’t” be moved. It was only after realizing I was dreading going to work (aka turning on my computer, because, uh, I work from home nowadays…) and rationalizing that my dad was in town so that was as good a reason as any to take a day off, that I finally emailed my boss to let her know my plan.

I pretty much never do that — take a day off *just because.* I am extremely protective of my PTO, and guard it like my life depends on it. I’m usually only willing to part with any of those hours if a limb is falling off or I have a trip or “real” vacation on deck, especially now that I work 100% remotely. And really, even then I’m kind of stingy about it, and often get annoyed I have to give up those hard-earned hours. I’ve been known to try and work extra hours on other days just to be able to avoid pulling anything out of my PTO account.

I sound fun, don’t I?

I have no idea why I’m like this, but it’s been my M.O. since I got my first big girl job after grad school. [Insert classic Millennial trope, right?]

And when I started writing the email to my boss, about taking Monday off? I automatically began flipping through all of the possible reasons I could share with her to make it seem clear that I NEEDED to take the day. But then, I stopped myself.

I realized I didn’t need a reason. I didn’t need an excuse, or to prove I was at a breaking point or having some sort of an emergency.

I mean, who cares why I wanted to use it? I’m an adult, and I wasn’t going to be hurting or inconveniencing anyone by taking one Monday off. Why I needed that time way, well that’s my business, isn’t it? (And obviously your business, internet friends, because we’re now in this together.)

Granted I don’t know where you work, but generally speaking, there’s no criteria for what qualifies as a “good enough” reason to take time off at work; this isn’t gymnastics at the Olympics — no one’s judging your decision to use PTO to sit on your sofa and paint your nails and watch “Schitt’s Creek” all day. If you’re lucky enough to have PTO accumulated, it’s yours, and it exists solely to be USED. Literally! It doesn’t have to be reserved just for taking a trip to Paris or caring for a sick kid (though yes, those are important too). It’s also there so you can have a mini-reprieve during a difficult week/month, or recharge, or spend time with people you love. Or, sit on your sofa and paint your nails. Whatever.

Why are we so apt to create a complicated rubric for determining whether or not we deserve to take a day off from work? Why is the default so frequently that we are not worthy?

You are worthy of rest, and so am I. Maybe you’re not, like, climbing Mt. Everest daily or something else physically exhausting, but that doesn’t mean you don’t also deserve a break.

Personally, I spent my Monday taking a spin class, and then hanging out with my dad and husband (who’d also taken the day off) wandering around Hermosa Beach, drinking coffee and acting like tourists for a few hours. My dad just turned 84, and I know without a doubt that my time with him being silly and taking a long walk instead of staring at my computer and checking emails was an excellent use of eight PTO hours.

And… believe me when I say no meeting is unmovable. 💛

So Many Somethings

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