Did you ever think you’d relate to Death? I didn’t either.

If Death can take a year-long sabbatical, you can take a break to recharge.

Do you ever wonder if Death cares about work-life balance? 

After reading Brian Rea’s Death Wins a Goldfish, I’d say yes. I’d even say that Death and I have a lot in common at the moment.

 I’m currently in a seemingly endless reading slump. In 2021, I’ve only finished two books: Hyperbole & Half by Allie Brosh¹ and Death Wins a Goldfish by Brian Rea. Of the two, the latter resonated with me — I felt seen.

Death works hard; we all know that. When you’re a grim reaper for Death Inc, you have several responsibilities — it can be tough to take a day or two off. But like every company in the world, HR exists to be the bane of your existence — Death is asked to take his accrued vacation time, effective immediately. He doesn’t want to; work is all he fills his day with. This transition isn’t easy, but his co-workers cheerfully send him off with cupcakes that read “Go Away”. 

And so, the year-long adventure begins. 

Death journals his time off, adding entries every month as he tries online dating, college life, paragliding, and spending some time with himself. 

Unlike Death, I don’t have HR to propel me to take a holiday. As a freelancer, I have to do that myself. I took most of April off — I knew I was running on fumes. Either I took a break, or a breakdown took me — you know exactly what I mean. 

Illustration: Malvika M

Like Death, though, I also grappled with the idea of not working. Time is money for freelancers and people hustling in their early 20s & 30s. Just like Death, I had no idea how to fill my day. It’s not the same if you watch Netflix when you’re not procrastinating something, you know? 

Throughout the book, Death slowly comes to realize that it’s okay to take time off work, to take time to grow and develop, to take time for yourself. At one point, he writes, 

“Checked in with the office today...[they] seem to be doing just fine without me.” 

The realization is both sad and helpful. 

Taking a holiday doesn’t mean that you have to be productive and work on your personal goals. That you have to continue the “hustle” during your downtime to make sure the break is “worth it.” It took me a while to recognize that I thought I deserved a holiday or a treat only if I finished X amount of work or did Y amount on my personal goals.

During my break in April, I actively tried not to do anything. I didn’t force myself to write; I didn’t force myself to be productive. I haven’t written anything creative for myself since the end of 2019, but I knew putting pressure on myself would find me starting a blank Word doc, hating myself. 

But you know what? It’s when I stepped back and let go that inspiration hit. Life’s annoying yet serendipitous that way. It’s how this newsletter came to be in the first place. 

I realized I had so many things to say and write about, but they’d all been buried because of the chaos in my brain. Work had taken o’er so much space that there was barely any left for non-money making ideas to come through. When I let go of the need to make sure everything I created was valuable and productive, I found that ideas came to me much more naturally. All this is easier said (written) than done, I know.

Back to the book — Death Wins A Goldfish is a charming, funny little book about why you should take a break from time to time. Let your little overworked and underpaid brain chill a little. Rea’s introduction is the perfect foreword to the book. He talks about how his dad regrets that he didn’t work less when he had the chance. He mentions how Death (the life-ending thing, not the protagonist of this book) is a good reminder that there are finish lines to our lives.

So, who is this book right for?

In a nutshell? Everyone. But to be specific, if you’re exhausted, burnt-out, out of ideas, desperately trying to juggle personal and professional goals, and feeling guilty for not working (enough) — pick it up immediately. It’s a quick read, but I’m positive it’ll remain with you for a long time. 

For me, the idea of working myself to the bone from 21-65 only to maybe enjoy life from 65-80 is ridiculous. It’s because I’ve lost family members way before 65 — I don’t see why I need to postpone quality time with my loved ones or doing what I want until I’m old and won’t be able to enjoy much anyway. 

Death Wins a Goldfish was the perfect book for me to read when I needed clarity about my freelance career, my creative pursuits and the tricky balance to them. I think even if you don’t have any of these to grapple with (who are you and can you teach me your ways?), it’s still a great book to read because the book’s artwork itself is so lovely. Rea illustrated New York Times’ Modern Love column and easily makes Death a relatable character: he’s you, he’s me, he’s your colleague. An Everyman Death.

I think Rea gave us the perfect description for the book: It’s about living. 

Be like Death, whether you’re forced to or not — take some time off when you need to recharge your batteries. Take time off to learn more about who you are outside of work, and who knows, maybe you might win a little goldfish at a carnival too.

Until next time,

Nia

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P.S. 🚀

• Malvika M made the amazing work o'clock illustration. Check out more of her work & send her some love.

• Love naps? Me too. Here's a case for taking one daily. Boost creativity, increase productivity, and more. Heck yeah!

• An interesting read about why we share how much we've read. I don't have a Goodreads Challenge this year (because of the slump), but I like to keep tabs on what I've read and what I thought about it — it helps me remember and recommend.

• Everyone and their mother has read this article, but if you haven't,  languishing is the word of the year. I'm certainly feeling it. 

• The world paused in 2020, and for some of us, it's still in that 'what's gonna happen' phase. Like me, you probably need to grieve the opportunities and time you lost last year too. It's okay to feel sad. 

• Ending on a lighter note, if you want to watch a funny, feminist, and entertaining show, Grace and Frankie should be your next watch. I finished watching the sixth season yesterday, and boy, was it a whirlwind. It only gets better every season. 

1. This one had a few essays I struggled to get through (I would still highly recommend it, though).