This week’s LIVE WELL is pretty simple, but it’s one of those things that’s easier said than done – at least for me. As the year wraps up, do what you can to take some time off. And I mean that beyond taking a single day off or even a whole week – I mean truly taking time off.

Instead of taking time off and then checking your email the whole time, what can you do to actually check out? What can you do to leave your phone in the other room for a couple days of downtime? Can you drive to the beach or the mountains and spend time in nature? Maybe spend a whole afternoon reading a book? Can you plan ahead this week to spend more time with family and friends next week? And to save time to reflect on the year you just had?

So often we (me included) take days off only to have them fly by without a plan for actually relaxing. And then before we know it, we’re back and work and don’t even feel that refreshed. Or worse, we head into a new year without taking a minute to pause.

I challenge you to do what you need to this week to plan for time off to wrap up the year. If that can only be the weekend, that’s fine – just use those days intentionally instead of having them be like any other day off (aka scrolling Instagram and doing chores). That might mean staying later at the office this week or running around like a crazy person – but I promise it’ll pay off.

What can you do this week to prep for true time off?