Days Off Are Overrated

Is it wrong that I don’t look forward to days off? It’s not that I don’t appreciate downtime, or the ability to connect with family and friends – or with myself. It’s just that I love the work that I do and I get emotionally itchy when I have nothing to do, nowhere to go, and nothing creative to sink my teeth into.

This past week, I had an unprecedented break between projects. I had finished all I could on one endeavor, but was waiting on feedback before diving into another round of edits, so I had this weird stretch of time where I wasn’t creating anything and didn’t want to begin a new project because I knew it was just a matter of days before I’d be thrust back into busyness.

So… I found myself combing through my to-do list for undone busy-work, taking care of small, relatively insignificant, tasks that I generally don’t get around to because they’re not actually important, but they do have to get done – eventually. Things like cleaning out my closet, going through old paperwork, and throwing out expired vitamins. Borrrrriiiinnnggg. I don’t usually realize how all-consuming my work is – or how enthralled I become with it – until everything stops and I’m faced with the being that comes after the doing.

Luckily, the break ended. My projects resumed. Instead of entire days off, I returned to working a lot interspersed with occasional periods of downtime. I’m back to loving what I do, doing what I love, and letting myself revel in creativity. I don’t give much – or any – credence to the adage “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” But, in my case at least, loving what I do has meant never wanting to take entire days off.