The way we design our lives often sets us up for failure. Shoving meetings between deadlines, missing family events in order to finish assignments, and sacrificing our personal time in order to satisfy others. The reality of life is that we can not possibly manage all of the tasks on our plate and stay sane if we do not figure out a way to balance. That is why mental health days are essential for success.

Taking a mental health day does not mean that you’re not capable of handling all of the tasks on your plate. Sometimes it is recognizing that those tasks aren’t more important than your health. Taking a mental health day once every couple months can benefit you, especially if you’re the type of person who runs on caffeine and never sleeps.

Mental health days do not require a consistent basis. It's really just one or two days to catch up on everything that you’ve been slacking with. Whether that’s sleep, sanity, exercise or maybe even food. Your body has physically and mentally broken down due to your overwhelming schedule, and it is time to recognize the importance of taking more than a minute to gather your emotions and push forward.

Taking a mental health day may seem like more of a burden for some people than a necessity, but it is for everyone. Take time out of your life to appreciate the person that you are, and give back to your body by giving yourself a break. If you are someone who stays so busy that the thought of taking a mental health day has you completely lost, here are some things that you could do to bring your mind back to planet earth.

Sleep in. Seriously, sleep in.

Turn off your alarm clocks. You don’t need them today. Stop worrying about whether or not you’re going to wake up on time and start worrying about how you’re going to block the sun from creeping in your blinds so you can sleep without interruptions. Seriously, catching up on sleep is going to feel amazing and your body isn’t going to know what to do with itself now that it finally is able to function on more than four hours of sleep. Isn’t it amazing how you feel after you get an adequate amount of sleep?

Don’t check your phone first thing in the morning. Make yourself coffee instead.

I read an article somewhere before that talked about the importance of taking care of yourself first in the morning, instead of checking your phone. It is a habit in the 21st century to check your phone for text messages, missed calls, and emails first thing when you wake up. But what that is teaching yourself to do is put others needs and messages before your own. So get up, keep your phone on charge, and make yourself a cup of coffee. You probably shouldn’t talk to anyone before you have coffee anyways.

Go for a run

I know that when I don’t exercise, I become moody and disappointed in myself. If your exercise routine has been suffering at the cost of your work or school schedule, now is the perfect time to bring it back up. Go run and breathe fresh air. Forget about the stale air in your office or classroom, and go outside and feel the breeze against your face. This might even prompt you to make running more of a routine and less of a goal when you are finally able to step away from everything that has been holding you back from that reality.

Bring your parents out to dinner

I never want my parents to be strangers in my life, and I never want them to feel like I am too overwhelmed or too busy to grab dinner with them. No matter how crazy my life gets, if my mom asks me to grab dinner with her, the answer is yes. Going out to dinner with your parents can help you gain clarity, even if they have no idea how to react to the things that are going on in your life. Set work aside, and make time for the people that brought you into this world. Without them, you wouldn’t be here. So catch up with a conversation, let them know what is happening in your world, and make sure that you don’t forget about them when work is piling assignments on top of you.

Call your friends up

I am grateful to have friends who keep in contact with me even when we are both busy. College and work get the best of all of us at times, especially for hometown friends that have found themselves spread out across the globe. Calling up your best friends and making sure that they know you are still alive is always a good thing. Being able to talk to each other about everything that is going on in life and how you feel, and even being able to laugh about old times and memories is a great feeling that should never be pushed aside due to having a busy life. Even if you do talk to your friends regularly, meet up with them for lunch or dinner. Put work aside and focus on the relationships that you have with people around you.