There's this episode of Pepper Ann where she imagines the inside of her brain to be filled with mini Pepper Anns who all work different jobs: someone's a front desk secretary, others are workers filing papers away into folders and boxes. When she's stressed, it's chaos because all of the little Pepper Anns have become overworked and are just exhausted and burnt out.

That's how I think about my brain sometime: with tons of little worker bees racing around to make things work. Thinking about that helps remind me occasionally to allow myself to take a break. Because it isn't just me who's becoming exhausted; it's every part of my brain that controls my actions, thoughts, etc. Jason always used to tell me to "slow down" because I was trying to do too much all at once. I used to think, "I can slow down later! I need to work hard NOW!"

But there's value in slowing down--and it doesn't need to be such a negative thing, you know? "Slow down" doesn't mean "stop working" or "stop achieving." It means refreshing yourself. "Recharging your batteries," as the saying goes.

In college, I would "slow down" by doing my nails--a process I would drag out for an hour or more. When you are painting your nails, you literally cannot do much else but sit and wait for your nails to dry. It gave me the opportunity to watch a movie or show, or Skype with a friend I'd been meaning to catch up with. It was always nice, and I think that's when I started to realize that "slowing down" only had benefits: I was making time for myself. It's so easy these days to forget to do that.

Whether it's a home manicure or running or folding laundry, I think there's something we all can find that can help us "slow down" while still feeling productive and ultimately good about ourselves. That's a win-win, and I think the little versions of you running around your head will be thankful for it.