Have you been feeling burnt out or unable to focus lately? Maybe you are distracted, or not feeling your best. These are all signs that it might be time to take a day off. Taking a personal day can be a great way to replenish your energy and enthusiasm. You may be thinking that you don’t have the time.

There is too much to be done at work, and you can’t possibly leave if you aren’t feeling so sick that you can’t get out of bed. Wrong. Hear me out.

Balance is key to everything in life, right? Taking some time to relax once in awhile is no different. You give the job your all every week, and now and again it is okay to need a break. Taking a personal day will allow you to go back to work recharged and ready to go full speed again. So, how to do you take one without feeling guilty about it?

Know You Are a Priority

Your wellbeing should always be a top priority. If you are tired, you aren’t likely to be doing your best work. You can’t help out and be full of good ideas if you simply have no energy to give. Knowing when to say when is a good skill to have in life. Look out for yourself and you will be more productive and much happier in the long run.

Plan Ahead

Try to find out ahead of time, ideally before you need to take a personal day, what the guidelines are with your employer. Do you need to disclose exactly why you are taking a day off? Can you be vague? If you need to give an explanation be honest if you can. Don’t just call in that morning if you can avoid it. Go through the proper procedures to ask for the day off in advance. Some companies provide paid days off. If you have paid days off, great, you should be set. If not, it might be a good idea to set a little money aside for when the need arises. That way you can avoid stressing your bank account.

Be Responsible

Know ahead of time what you need to do to stay caught up with your other obligations. Do you need to help wrap up a big project that has an approaching deadline? Do you need to get a little work done in advance? This may require working an extra hour or two for a few days, or coming in early. It will be so worth it. When you have all of your bases covered beforehand you won’t have to spend any time thinking about these things on your day off. It is also likely that your boss will appreciate the effort and forward thinking.

Make It Productive

Don’t take a day off for nothing. Now, that doesn’t mean you have to do much of anything necessarily. It just means that you should be aware of what you are taking the day off for. If you need to rest, then sleep in that day and enjoy some Netflix or a long walk in the park. If you need time to work on a creative project, then make sure you do something to actually make progress on that project. Use the day to give yourself what you need. Make it really count.

Now you can go back to work feeling amazing and ready to take on anything. 

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Written by Lindy Callahan. Featured Illustration Polished Plans