The other night I went home to get dinner around 7 p.m. I figured that was as good a time as any to call it quits. I was proud of myself for everything I was able to accomplish throughout the 10 hours I had spent on campus that day. Additionally, I had been on campus from 8:30 a.m. to 3 a.m. (a whopping 19 hours) the day before, going to class and work and laying out the school paper with my fellow editors. Needless to say, I was pretty wiped out from that. As such, 7 p.m. seemed like a good time to just drop everything, go home and get some rest.
When I got back to my house, a delicious steak and loaded baked potato were waiting for me. They made all the stress of the past two days worth it. I chowed them down and headed to my room to catch up on some TV. Before I even got in the room, though, I could hear the email alert from my tablet go off. That noise, that doodle-la-doo-doo sound that I think of in my sleep, is usually not one that I enjoy hearing. It usually serves as a sort of beacon, informing me that my wish to end my work day once and for all will not be granted. To my chagrin, I checked my email. Opening up the dreaded application on my tablet, I realized that in the time it took me to get home from school and eat dinner, 20 new emails had arrived in my inbox, waiting to be answered.
As a result of my over tiredness, I did something I normally never do: I completely ignored them for the rest of the night. Instead of sitting there replying to emails for the next hour, I indulged myself in an episode of "Madam Secretary" and watched Tea Leoni kick butt and take names in D.C. for the rest of the night. You know what? I don't have a single regret.
Granted, I eventually got back to everyone who emailed me by the next morning. However, being able to draw a line in the sand and take some time for myself for a little while felt glorious. It is rare for me to ever do something like that. In hindsight, though, I think I need to do it more often.
As a society, we run ourselves ragged because we, like Chicken Little, believe the sky will fall if we don't do the responsible thing all the time. In the long run, though, you are not going to do anyone any good by stressing yourself out so much that you can barely think. Now, I'm not suggesting that we shirk our responsibilities all the time. That would be foolish. Rather, I am advocating for a system in which people become more willing to admit when they've had enough and take the necessary steps to detach themselves from the stresses of their lives. Easier said than done, I know, but, believe me, the benefits far outweigh the costs.
