Have you ever felt so overloaded with school work, clubs, meetings, and social activities that you wish you could just hide and watch Netflix all day?
Admit it—yes, you have. There comes a point in most students’ semesters where they feel like they just need a break, or a “personal day,” to themselves doing absolutely nothing. Most of us have probably skipped a few classes when we know we’re caught up on work or when we know we have someone reliable to take notes for us that day. There is nothing wrong with taking a personal day to yourself, as long as you manage your time correctly.
According to CNN, some of the main reasons why people talk themselves out of taking a day off are that they’re “too stressed to even plan a day off,” that they have too much work, or that they’re plagued with a simple question—”what would I even do?”
If you have ever heard yourself asking the same question to try avoiding taking a personal day, maybe you need to take one—it is, really, okay to take a day off.
Sophomore Elora O’Neill admits to taking some personal days herself. O’Neill says she thinks “taking a personal day is a very effective use of time, especially when you know the material in the classes that you will be missing.” She also thinks that personal days “give you time to rest, catch up on homework, and take your time to decompress so that you can be the best person that you can be the next day.”
The flip side of taking an entire day off classes to relax and recoup your energy is the fact that you will inevitably miss something in your classes, and that could put you behind. It is double-edged sword of missing a class to catch up on the work; students risk entering the never-ending cycle of playing the ‘catch-up’ game. By taking a personal day, students might also become more stressed during the day thinking of everything else they could be doing.
However, personal days are a good idea if students budget their time appropriately so they don’t fall too far behind in classes. If you’re feeling overwhelmed with work, along with a number of other activities, go ahead—take a personal day.
