It’s a vacation day, in my home and my neighborhood. This morning I enjoyed the luxury of having salon professionals wash my hair for me, then cut it. Now I’m at my favorite diner while the car gets its own salon treatment at the auto shop next door.

It’s been many months since I felt this calm. Without the enforced break of vacation, even on weekends, I feel the weight of work on me like a thundercloud about to explode with rain. As long as someone–boss, client, coworker–is waiting for some deliverable from me, my mind doesn’t rest until it is delivered.

Is this some personal anxiety of mine, or is this common?

Is the answer self-discipline and positive self-talk, or to challenge the generally accepted culture of work? The only answer I can think of, for me, is to challenge my notions about work.