I don’t like it when people call “a lazy day” a day of doing nothing because, I don’t know about you, but I do far from nothing on lazy days — I do things I enjoy, things that relax me. Granted, those things can be indulging in hours of "Psych" and "Broad City" episodes I’ve already seen dozens of times or reading whatever writing craft or poetry book I’m in the middle of. While I admit lazy days may look unproductive (since the most movement I do is crawl from the bed to the floor to the couch), in terms of self-reflection and self-care, “lazy days” can be extremely productive.

Trust me, I absolutely love being with friends and family, whether it’s just sitting around on couches or going for an afternoon hike (there is little I love more). But, I admit, sometimes I need a break. If my entire summer week is jam-packed with exhausting activities and back-to-back plans, I start to lose fuel fast. For me, “lazy days” are just a way of regaining the energy I need to be fully involved and enthusiastic about doing not-so-lazy things. The way I typically refuel revolves around getting a solid night (and morning and late morning) of sleep. Late nights with friends are fun and totally worth it, but too many in a row can leave you sleep-deprived and struggling to keep up with plans because adrenaline only lasts so long.

Personally, while refueling is necessary, doing relaxing things that I enjoy is essential on lazy days, such as rewatching favorite episodes of my favorite TV shows, writing, spending quality time with my cats and dog, reading (OK, fine, rereading) "Harry Potter" and listening to my music all day. While most of those things do not sound the least bit productive (re-watching television shows, mainly), I believe they are very productive in terms of taking care of yourself. Your happiness, comfort and overall mental stability should be your priority and “lazy days” are the perfect time to take care of yourself without any distractions. Yes, finding time to really look after yourself (which I find it commonly called “doing nothing”) is especially difficult during the school year. Typically, I designate Friday afternoons as my downtime during the school year — I don’t allow myself to do any homework and typically keep to myself if I can.

Alone time is not only important to refuel, but also to reflect. Like I mentioned earlier, I write during “lazy days,” downtime, and really, whenever I get the chance because that is how I check in on myself to see how I’m doing. For me, different forms of writing accomplish different things: poetry acts as diary entries and personal essays work as a way to organize my thoughts and feelings. If you have a way of clearing your mind or at least sorting it out, whether it’s creating art, working out, cleaning or any other activity (or lack thereof), center your “lazy days” around that. Doing this will ensure that these days are not spent sleeping away the time, because as tempting as that sounds, it can become a bad habit.

This summer, there was a block of time when none of my friends were home from school or vacations, I wasn’t working, and I didn’t know what the hell to do with myself because being alone and utterly unoccupied led to truly unproductive lazy days ... real lazy days (not self-care days). I wasted days in my bed sleeping and napping because I didn’t feel like doing anything else. Those weeks started out like one of my typical lazy days, but too many in a row resulted in lethargy and lack of motivation (and writer’s block). I highly encourage you to take days for yourself, but also not to shut yourself away from the world.

Don’t be afraid to take a day for yourself every once in a while, because contrary to popular belief, “lazy days” are far from unproductive. In my book, taking care of yourself is the key to productivity.