I have a story from Simon Sinek, a great story of two lumberjacks.

Every morning they start chopping wood at the same time, and every day they stop chopping wood at the same time. Every day, one of the lumberjacks disappears for about an hour in the middle of the day, and every day he chops more wood than the other guy. And this goes on for months. Eventually, the one who works all day says “I don’t understand. Every day we start at the same time. Every day we stop at the same time. Every day, you disappear for about an hour in the middle of the day. And every day you chop more wood than me. Where do you go for that hour?”. And the other lumberjack looks up and goes, “Oh I go home and sharpen my axe.”

From the story, we learn that we need to disconnect with email, Slack, code, or the office. You can take on leave.

Yup, leave is associated with vacations, but we can take on leave without having to go anywhere. Here’s why:

  1. Sometimes we just need a break. That’s all. Not going anywhere, but resting.
  2. It’s important to feel at home, both physically and mentally.
  3. It’s important to be present in the midst of the family without any other thoughts, including work.
  4. We need to neutralize the mind so that we can present fresh ideas for your job.
  5. Vacations are not necessarily resting. It could be that you are more tired or more wasteful.

So let’s take a day off.

This article is part of the 30 Day Writing Challenge. I’ll challenge myself to write whatever comes to mind.