But what did you do?

I took last week off. I know I mentioned that already. But I not only took the week off, I disconnected from work.

Kind of.

Because I am always connected, my idea of disconnecting is probably different than others. I checked my work email. I read some, but not most. I deleted the emails that were junk or that would hold no relevance this week.

And I did nothing. I half-assed cleaned one day. I knit. I napped. I watched TV. I cooked. I did nothing of any great importance. I thought I told people at work I was going to be gone all week, but I guess I only told some of them. Most people assumed I went out of town since it was the holidays.

Nope.

I told people what I did and they seemed confused. Why not leave town? Why not see your family? Because I didn't want to. What did you do?  Whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I needed the time to rejuvenate and hibernate. It's been a stressful quarter for many reasons. I don't feel my job has been all that stressful this quarter, but there has been an underlying feeling of stress in the building, and it has been exhausting. I needed a chunk of time away. A chunk where I didn't have to get on a plane or a train or meet any schedule not under my control.

And you know what? It was great. I went back to work this week with a more energy and a new enthusiasm. I was ready to meet every new challenge. Because I unplugged, I have some catching up to do--and it doesn't bother me one bit.

I need to do this more often.