There’s this feeling I get at the end of a work day—after interacting with people in meetings, talking with patients as a psychiatrist, and chit-chatting with colleagues in the hallway—that can best be described as “spent.” I get home and I am all kinds of exhausted, mentally and physically. I want to call a friend or go out to dinner, but I can only muster the energy to turn on Vanderpump Rules and shut my mind off completely. That, or I call it a night after dinner and just go to bed .
It’s simply an agreed-upon plan, understood by everyone involved, to create a better “second shift” for everyone, Dr. Zuckerman says. Don’t beat yourself up for needing downtime. I don’t know about you, but when I get home after work, if I spend most of my evening doing something “frivolous” like reading a juicy romance novel or streaming reality TV, part of me feels like I should be working instead.