Why Even a #GirlBoss Needs Mental Health Days

Photo Credit: Variety.com

By: Zoey Woldman

I was that girl that didn’t skip class in college, and when I did, I felt super guilty about it, like I was committing some heinous crime. Now, I keep my fingers crossed for a snow day, which btw, I did NOT get when NY got hit with that bomb cyclone a couple weeks ago (yes, my office was the only one in the city that stuck to regular programming). Clearly, I’m still not over it. When we’re little, we take our weekends for granted and don’t thank our parents enough for letting us play hooky. Now, our paid time off is categorized by personal days, sick days, and vacation days. I’m sure you can guess which category allows for the least amount of days off. If you guessed personal, you’re right. #nodaysoff, but really...I like to consider myself a #girlboss (yes, I know I need to stop using so many hashtags), or at least a #girlboss in training. And for the most part, I consider myself to be a pretty good one. Obviously, I have room to grow, and areas to focus on, but how am I supposed to stay motivated to do so when I never have time to just take a breath and focus on myself?! News flash: even the best #girlbosses need mental health days.

In the U.S., especially New York City, there is such a stigma around work. You are expected to answer every email pretty much immediately, no matter what time or day you receive it. It truly is the city that never sleeps, but no one ever tells you that it’s not because of partying or 24hr bodegas. It’s because work never stops! Did you know that in France, there’s a law that gives rights to employees to disconnect after work hours? That sounds like a dream! When I’m shoveling my dinner into my face after work, and I receive an email, I sometimes pretend like I didn’t see it...raise your hand if you’re guilty! I know some of you are lying. It’s okay, you don’t have to admit it, but I know the truth. Chances are, you’re pretending that you didn’t see it because you feel like you can’t catch a break. Well guess what? That’s why mental health days were invented.

I had no idea what a mental health day was until my sophomore year of college, and even then, I didn’t participate in taking one until my senior year. For some, a mental health day is lighting candles, dropping a bath bomb into the tub, and propping your computer on top of the toilet to simultaneously bathe and binge. For me, taking a mental health day is sleeping in, working out, and watching movies until I fall back asleep. Somewhere in there, I manage to finish an entire share sized bag of caramel M&M’s. By the time I hit the bottom of the M&M bag, I’m wondering why I even worked out. And no matter how stressed and deserving I am of a quiet day to myself, I always end up replying to emails and answering phone calls. I now declare, that 2018 is the year of self-care!

This year, take mental health days to recharge and relax, however you wish. The less stressed, and less hectic your life feels, the more motivated you will stay to get the things done that matter most to you. If you just keep chugging along, eventually, you are going to burn out. That is a fact. At Making it in Manhattan, we don’t want any burnouts, unless they're in the Ferrari that you afforded from being a bada** #girlboss.

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