Do you follow me on Instagram? If you do, then you may have seen that I went skiing before starting work yesterday.

I live close enough to one ski resort that I can get a couple of hours in on a weekday morning, which allows me to avoid the crowds. In and out, then back to work!

However, I let years go by without skiing. I told myself that I was too busy to take a break. I wanted to squeeze in more working hours.

That’s a recipe for burning out.

I did the same thing when I worked at eBay. I was there for over four years, but I never took a real vacation. Not once in four years! No wonder my stress levels were off the charts back then.

I’ve witnessed several friends and colleagues have mental and emotional breakdowns due to burning the candle at both ends. They worked long hours, nights and weekends, and tried to make everyone happy at work and home.

The one person that they were not focused on was themselves. Some ended up being hospitalized.

You aren’t a machine. You can’t work 24/7 …