You Deserve to Take a Dating Sabbatical

And dare we say...you probably should?

- VERONICA LOPEZ

You nap when you're tired, rest when you're sore, and (hopefully) take a mental health day when it all feels like too much. But what about when you can't fathom following through on another "let's grab drinks after work" because the couch looks way more tempting than talking about your hobbies and how many siblings you have...yet again?

Friends, here is exactly what to do in this scenario: nothing. Don't agree to or go on the date. Don't force yourself to engage in a tired Q&A session, you know, just in case. Don't spend minutes you can't get back agonizing over falling behind in the socially ingrained race to Find The One By A Certain Age. Instead, make no plans at all.

Okay, fine, a lot easier said than done. That social pressure is real, and ignoring it can cause anxiety of a different sort, especially because we often associate getting closer to being in a relationship with productivity, says dating and relationships coach Clara Artschwager, "so our tendency is to do even more. You think, I always have to be 'on' and working at this in order to secure the thing that I want."