I have a terrible habit. I don't take time off. And even if I do, it is minimal and I'm still squeezing in just enough work to make it feel like I haven't taken vacation at all. Then I get all tired and stabby and grumbly and generally unpleasant to be around. Come August, I'm a wreck meandering around the city on a hair trigger. It's just not good for anyone, most of all myself. So here I find myself, on two weeks of time off. I went to a friend's wedding, I made a pit stop and visited a friend I haven't seen in ages and now I'm back home in DC. I have more than a week to let my brain rest quietly and without a schedule. For once, I'm 100% enjoying it. I'm not quite sure how to make the most of my time - I don't want to be a lump on the couch - but I figure it'll come to me. And if it doesn't, oh well. I'll just read a lot and call that win, no?  

13 questions to ask yourself if you think you're approaching burnout at work. 

Working for a brand and creating content for it feels like a bit of an uphill battle these days. Seth Godin's interview on content marketing is A+, mandatory reading for those of us in the daily hustle. 

Being a go-getter is no fun. I've been thinking a lot about how to manage high performing/high potential employees. Giving them a greater volume of work is definitely not in the plan because more work is not at all a reward and it just builds resentment on their part and isolates them from the team. 

Secret binders full of women writers. Where is the line between exclusivity and creating a safe space for women online? When Melody Kramer published a nearly exhaustive list of hidden and/or secret online groups for journalists, there was major backlash from the Binders Full of Women Writers group. 

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"Love is really a recognition of truth, a recognition of another person's integrity and truth." - Robert Graves on love, lust and the difference between the two. 

My co-worker Justin is witty and vulnerable in his ranking of his 5 favorite break ups. 

"Let's put traditional ketchup on EVERYTHING!!!" If Mexicans celebrated 4th of July like we celebrate Cinco de Mayo. 

The Buckley vs Vidal debates of 1968 look like an epic bloodbath of words. I can't wait to watch Best Enemies, a documentary of their war of words. 

""There's three things you can do when life sends a wave at you. You can run from it, but then it's going to catch up and knock you down. You can also fall back on your ego and try to stand your ground, but then it's still going to clobber you. Or you can use it as an opportunity to go deep, and transform yourself to match the circumstances. And that's how you get through the wave." fabulous life advice via Humans of New York. 

Long read: Cheating, Incorporated. An in-depth look at Ashley Madison, a dating site for adulterers...or aspiring adulterers. 

Instead of a music video, I thought I'd leave you with this trailer for Broadly, a new channel started by notoriously gritty Vice media. It's for women by women featuring some pretty bad ass stories about women all over the world. (Including a 5-inch-heel sporting motorcycle girl gang. Yesssss!) Enjoy your weekend, dears!