Take time for yourself

There’s something about the grind that becomes addictive. You wake up, check your phone before you even stand up, and before you know it, you’re on Zoom #4 with coffee #3 and the only steps you’ve taken were to your desk. If that sounds like your morning, this article is for you. And yeah, I’m writing it for myself too.
We’re in a time where being “booked solid” is considered admirable. We proudly say we’re slammed, overscheduled, or triple-booked like it’s some badge of honor. But at what cost?
Let’s be real — time management isn’t just about productivity. It’s about longevity.
The Lie We Tell Ourselves About Time
We treat time like it’s infinite when it’s convenient, and scarce when it’s not. “I’ll make time later,” we say. But we never do. Time doesn't work like rollover minutes. You don’t get to bank what you don’t use. You just lose it. And here’s the kicker — most of us aren’t even tracking it properly. We reconstruct time entries based on gut feel, not reality. We block 3 hours for a “meeting” that was actually 17 minutes of talking and 2 hours and 43 minutes of staring at our inbox while stress-scrolling LinkedIn.
Sitting is the New Smoking — and It’s Killing Us Slowly
I read that line years ago and rolled my eyes. “Sitting is the new smoking” felt like wellness hype. But now? Now I’m sitting on a heating pad, nursing lower back pain, and icing my wrist from repetitive stress. I’m also fielding DMs from three coworkers with sciatica and another who pulled something reaching for a printer tray. We weren’t built for this. Humans were never meant to sit still for 10 hours a day in dim rooms, breathing recycled air and typing like court reporters under pressure.
And yet… here we are.
The Myth of the Marginalized Break
Let’s talk about lunch — or the lack of it. When was the last time you scheduled a real break on your calendar? Not the fake 30-minute placeholder you ignore. A real break. No email. No Slack. No “just a quick question” Teams pings. If your lunch is a protein bar between calls or replying to email one-handed while reheating leftovers, you're not recharging — you’re surviving.
The truth is, nobody’s going to protect your time but you. Your boss won’t. Your clients won’t. Your calendar definitely won’t. You’ve got to carve that time out with surgical precision and defend it like your health depends on it. Because it does.
If You Don’t Log Out, Your Body Will Do It For You
You can’t pour from an empty cup, and you can’t be productive when you’re running on fumes. Burnout doesn’t always show up in big dramatic ways. Sometimes it’s the little stuff — the foggy memory, the snappy reply you didn’t mean to send, the typo in the contract, the missed appointment you swore you confirmed. Eventually, your body hits the brakes for you. And trust me, that kind of forced time off? It won’t be restful. It’ll be recovery.
What I’m Trying to Do Differently?
I’m trying to move more. Trying to block a real lunch. Trying to step outside once a day, even if just to breathe air that hasn’t been filtered by an HVAC. I’ve started putting “Take a walk” on my to-do list, not because I forget, but because I need the reminder that it’s allowed. I’m not perfect at it. Some days, I fail spectacularly. But I’m working on being more human and less machine.
Because there’s no badge for working yourself into the ground. And no client ever thanked someone for skipping lunch.
Final Thought
Time is the most valuable thing we have. But it’s not just about how we track it — it’s about how we respect it. And respecting time means respecting yourself.
So log off. Take a break. Go outside. Talk to a stranger. Drink water. Stretch. Breathe.
Because if you won’t schedule it — your body eventually will.