Taking Time Off

I have a hard time taking time off.

Even when I have time off work, I have some side project (here’s my latest) or new tech to experiment with. This is usually a good thing for me professionally. Loving what I do means I do a lot of it, and I think that’s made me better at my job and my side projects have even gotten me noticed by employers before.

My wife and I visited her family in Pennsylvania this Thanksgiving, and there was no internet, so I relegated myself to some forced time off. Save a couple of quick emails checks, I basically did no work for five days. Didn’t even touch my laptop.

Despite my constant drive to be learning or working on something these breaks are always a net positive. So much so that I even structured them into my annual goals. Every month, I take one day without screens to think and allow myself to be a little bored.

If you are like me and you have a hard time shutting off, I’d encourage you to take on this practice. If you already do something like this, let me hear about it.

Like this post? I send a weekly newsletter of advice and tools for startup founders and employees. Sign up here.