To my American readers and followers: please leave the office tomorrow (or today, even) and stay gone - physically, mentally, emotionally - until Monday.
That email can wait (hopefully, the person on the other end is taking time off, too).
No phone calls. People hate phone calls any time of year.
The holidays are coming. They will smack you in the face with their stress and guilt and travel. Breathe easy now. You'll need it.
Do as Sarah Peck suggests and tell yourself to "take the time I need to be the person I need to be, completely."
Family. Your work is in vain if you don't have the purpose of it providing something better for those you love the most.
Make sure to eat. Food will be aplenty the next few days. Taste the turkey or tofurkey, the mashed potatoes and the sweet potato pie, the cranberry crap from a can and whatever else your aunt makes that people eat out of politeness. Drink deeply with people you think of often.
It's a fine time to be reminded of these words by Anna Quindlen:
You cannot be really first-rate at your work if your work is all you are.
That's right. Even the top players have more to them than a single-minded devotion to output. Use the rest of this week for input - to put inside of you the downtime, energy, memories, hope, enthusiasm, and optimism you need for the rest of 2012.
Enjoy your week. I'll see you back here on Monday.