I haven’t tweeted work #goals in a while because between travel, grief, & other life chaos (good & bad), I’ve basically just barely been able to keep up with e-mail, meetings & returning edits on things to be published.
After an intense two & a half months, I’ve given myself permission to do bare minimum work until the end of this year. So my work tweets will be limited until then. I really want to finish my book next spring, but my brain needs a major reset.
So much has happened to me this year, particularly in the last 2.5 months, so I just need some time to process, rest & recover. Since I am on leave from teaching, I can actually do that. And even as I know I need it, I regularly feel guilty about it & thus haven’t said much here.
But pretending I’m working (on academic stuff) when I’m actually working on my self & my personal life doesn’t help anyone, not me & not those who follow me, esp junior scholars. I don’t want to replicate for others the work culture that burned me out for so many years.
I am privileged to have this academic year off from teaching & to have enough publications already in process that taking a break isn’t going to harm my career or endanger my job. I will admit this is the first time taking a break feels possible. That shouldn’t be the case.
I don’t have a great way to conclude this. I just want folks to know that taking a break doesn’t mean you’re weak or bad. I also know taking a break is a privilege. But I don’t want to stop living a full life or being myself for this job. I hope it’s something we can all do. 
