It starts small. First, you will skip a meal. You will hold your urine before you go to the restroom. Spend hours upon hours at a time working on a project.

You don’t think a break will recharge you, instead it will waste precious work time. Then the sleep begins to suffer. When you aren’t up all hours working you are tossing and turning in work related stress. Slowly, without your knowledge, the stress begins to build beneath your feet. You carry this tension everywhere you go.

Stop. Breathe.

You are not doing anyone any favors by working yourself into exhaustion.

When we spend too much time on our work we lose perspective. Our brains are delicate, and like batteries need time to recharge on occasion. Taking ten minutes to use the restroom is good for your soul and your bladder. A twenty minute meal break will give your brain energy to go on. A full night’s rest allows recovery time from performance fatigue.

Look, I get it. We all have tasks to complete, goals to accomplish, deadlines to meet, etc, but pushing yourself beyond your limits can have serious consequences. The people you care about can't stand to see you burnt out all the time. Even more so, the quality of your work will eventually suffer too.

Seeing as none of us have an S on our chest, the world won’t end if you take the rest of the night to hang out with friends, pet a fuzzy animal, or catch up on a good book. No one ever regrets that extra pampering time once they’ve done it.

Trust me. Your brain and body will thank you.