The importance of time for oneself.
I had four days left of annual leave before the end of January and, rather uncharacteristically, decided to take them rather than just let them go. The decision was taken as I felt I didn't actually have a Christmas break. My husband could not take any days off aside from the statutory days of leave over the Christmas/New Year period so I was on childcare duty almost all the time. The result was that I took time off to look after Baby but didn't actually have a rest. In fact it was more mentally and physically demanding than usual as I was also doing a bit of work in my spare moments to meet various deadlines at the beginning of the year. I went back to work in January more of a wreck than before the break and found it hard to concentrate. So I decided that I would use the remaining leave days and spend them doing things I would like to do. It was a good decision. The state of the flat had been bothering me for a while and it was a constant source of stress. I am not a cl...