

Young woman writing a diary.

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You ever find yourself tired and busy all time, even in moments where you could be taking it easy but you decide not to because you don’t like idle time? If you answered yes, Houston, we have a problem.

We’ve all been there, but it’s hard to recognize in the moment. If you identify with the red flags listed by Madame Noire below, it’s time for you to relax.

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1. Your “chill” days involve errands

When you tell yourself you’ll do “nothing” on a Saturday, that means you’ll pick up a prescription, pick up some items from a home goods store, take a fitness class, list items on Ebay, and re-organize your closet.

2. If you stay home you must clean

If you force yourself to simply stay home and not run errands on your “chill” day, you always wind up cleaning. You tell yourself you’ll just sweep that one area, but suddenly you’ve bleached the tubs and sinks, cleaned all the windows, dusted every shelf, and the day is gone.

3. You require 24/7 Wi-Fi on vacation

You are diligent about making sure you’ll always have access to Wi-Fi on your trip. You’ve requested the days off. Nobody should be emailing you about work. But you can’t stand the idea of not having the option to work at any given moment.

4. You only read books about your career

You can’t remember the last time you read a book for pleasure. Every book is about business or career tips. Every book is teaching you a new skill or knowledge you can use in your career. You never just read a romance novel or a humorous book.

5. You over-pack your weekends

You think you relax on weekends because you socialize, but you over-socialize. You say yes to 10 am yoga with one friend, noon lunch with another, 2pm coffee with another friend, 5pm drinks with this buddy, and dinner with that one. Socializing should leave you feeling energized but the way you do it leaves you feeling exhausted.

6. You must always watch the clock

You always know what time it is. You never let yourself experience the luxury of not watching the clock. You just over-schedule your life so much that you can’t afford to not know what time it is at all times.

7. Having an unscheduled day makes you panic

Waking up and realize you’ve planned nothing for your Saturday makes you panic. You instantly text 11 friends to see if they want to meet up and you start looking around your home for DIY projects. You’re almost afraid to see what would happen if you just did nothing.

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