We get so caught up in goals. Social media has turned into a platform for people to show other people how hard they are working, with constant updates on where they’re at with their goals/ambitions. And essentially, all of the things they have as a result of that.

Which, by the way, I am all for people encouraging others and you’d be lying if you said it didn’t feel good to hear “good job” from someone. Oh, and for the record, I love social media. I think it has done wonders for our generation, it has opened doors for so many people and given people access to communities and support systems they probably would have never found otherwise.

BUT if someone was a lazy POS for a day, or even a week, I’m going to say 9 times out of 10, they’re not going to post that for you to see. My point here is, that everyone needs a break. Working towards your goals is so important, but sometimes the constant “go” of our generation can be so exhausting.

So here are some tips for when you need to take a break from work or studying or your side hustle or all of thee above:

1. Take time for yourself (obviously what this entire post is about). The health & wellness trend is huge right now and there are so many ways to make yourself feel good in the comfort of your own home. Some of my favorite things I use to relax are:

• Essential oil diffusers, here is an affordable one and here is one from Nords
• WINE 🙂 (Dark Horse Cabernet is $8 and it’s the best so you’re welcome)
• Face masks/sheet masks (Summer Fridays Jet Lag Mask/Overtime Mask, any of the Sephora sheet masks) 
• Hair treatments
• Body scrubs or Dry Brushing (This Dove body scrub is the best smelling thing, ever I think)
• Candles – Homegoods & Marshalls have the largest candles for cheap
• Journaling – Just writing down what you’re thinking and feeling. This particularly helps if you don’t necessarily feel like talking to someone.
• Reading – You can preview books on the iBooks app, if you don’t really know what to read, so you don’t buy something and figure out you hate it 🙂
• Cleaning (only me? it relaxes me ok)

2. Actually enjoy your time off. If you’re constantly thinking about what you think you should be doing or beating yourself up for relaxing, you’re probably just making things worse (stay with me here). With all things in life, you have to have balance. I’m not saying you should procrastinate and ignore all of your responsibilities, but you also shouldn’t burn yourself out. You know what I’m saying? It’s okay to Netflix for 6 hours straight, you deserve it.

3. P O S I T I V E vibes people. It really is so important. If you understand tip #2, but you are still beating yourself up, I’m telling you, a negative attitude is such wasted energy. I’m not saying just “snap out of it” because 1. that’s not realistic and 2. rude. But just try to appreciate and recognize all of the things in life that make you happy and why they make you happy (refer to journaling, above). Sometimes, there are flat out shitty situations in life. It truly is how you think about it and how you handle it that determines your life and you as a person.

4. Stop Comparing. You already know the quote “comparison is the thief of joy.” So I’m going to tell you again, comparison is the thief of joy. Like I was saying above, social media is in our face basically at all times and although you may be tempted to feel down because you see this kid starting his own business or the new Gucci bag so and so just bought, go back to tip 1, 2 & 3.

5. This is just more of a fact: You can simultaneously kill it in work/school/life but also have a breakdown every once in a while and allow yourself to not be okay. Cry it out if you need to, vent to a friend, let it all out – now pick yourself back up and start again.

6. Your environment. This may be the most important tip of them all. You could be the hardest working person in the world and if you are surrounding yourself with people who are constantly tearing you down, it’s going to take a toll on you. SO, cut out the negatives. Surround yourself with people who believe in you, who want to see you succeed, people you can laugh with and people who you can share the $8 Dark Horse cab with, okay?

I hope you find balance between chasing your dreams and Netflix & Chill.

xx B