By Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk

by Sarah Warlick, writer and copy editor

It’s the Fourth of July, and most offices will shut down for a day or two. We make it a 2-day holiday at bbr marketing (closed Thursday and Friday), but even if you only get one day off, you’re no doubt looking forward to a break.

But “Wait!” you say. “I’m so swamped that I can’t think about taking time off. I’ll have to skip the picnics and work instead just to keep my head above water.” Oy vey! We get it, believe us. That’s how a shocking number of us feel these days, but the worst thing is that it’s no longer a momentary crisis but an ongoing situation.

That’s not okay. We are besieged on all sides by more things we should be doing (Network! Exercise! Blog! Serve healthier meals! Clean up old messes in business and personal life! Update our skills! Smell the roses!) joined by fresh reminders that stress kills. Does that awareness somehow lessen the stress of feeling inadequate to keep up with our many responsibilities? No, it does not. Not one bit.

Crisis overload is the new normal, and it gets really, really old. It’s also not likely to change drastically. Therefore, instead of setting the goal of doing everything we feel we should be doing, perhaps a better aim is to strive for acceptance and the ability to relax – and enjoy it – despite our inadequate performance as gauged by the number of unmet goals.

Managing to do so results in a sense that life is good. By reclassifying each day as another fun summer day off and pretending that all those tasks are optional, you may just find that you’re getting enough done to get by and feeling satisfied at the end of the day. And what’s funny is that you’ll probably be getting about the same amount done. That means you’re not falling any farther behind. And that, in my book, had darn well better got to start counting as success.

You’ll also be enjoying the tasks you do get done more, and performing them better. So really, by deciding it’s okay to slack off, you’re taking the most efficient path to improving your performance. Rationalize much? Yes, I do. But I also go on picnics and play 4-square with my kids. Balance, don’t you know.

What I’m trying to say is that you should take the day off, go swimming, see some fireworks and feel good about it. When you come back to the office, you’ll knock things off your to-do list with a vengeance, working more efficiently and at a higher level than if you hadn’t. And whether or not that’s objectively true, the perception that it is, combined with your lovely day of recreation, will make you love your job and your life. Which is, I think we can all agree, the secret meaning of independence.