It was my very first day at The Big Firm.

My mentor, Neil, one of the young partners, gave me the tour; and then we settled down in my new office.

Hermetically sealed. The 18th floor. Looking out across the magnificent cityscape.

Neil nodded toward the stack of blank forms in the middle of my clean, shiny mahogany desk.

He instructed me in the careful ways of measuring the value of my existence in 6-minute increments.

“Your time sheet is your bible,” Neil admonished.

Then he told me about “our vacation policy.”

“You get 3 weeks of paid vacation every year, Walt.”

Then he dropped his voice, looked me square in the eyes, and squinted.

“But no one ever takes them.”

I thought that was pretty f-ed up.

I promptly scheduled some time away.

Here’s what’s true: You’re not built like a machine. You can’t go 24/7/365.

You can’t do 996 forever.

It’s simply not sustainable.

You need time and space to rest and re-create.

Claim some for yourself.