Have you ever felt the involuntary kicks your leg starts making at the end of a long day while you’re zoning out on the couch? Modern medicine calls it “Restless Leg Syndrome” and they made a pill to fix it. My family calls it “the Jimmy Leg” and our cure is just…to go to bed.
The name is a Seinfeld reference I’d long forgotten about (until writing this, I’d assumed we’d made it up. And growing up, when we were all piled on the couch watching a movie, someone’s leg would start twitching around 8pm like clockwork (usually mine or my mom’s). The rest of the family would start teasing. “Someone’s got the Jimmy Leg! Time for bed!”
Instead of fighting through the “Jimmy Leg” moments in our own lives, I’m a big believer in, well, taking the hint.
So while August is more typically known for an influx of “I’ll be away from my email” responses (Europe knows what’s up..they take basically the entire month off), we couldn’t wait.
We’re declaring July “Out of Office Month” on Style Girlfriend.
Before you panic at the thought of no Team SG for four weeks, don’t worry…that’s not what we mean!
In fact, we’ve got a whole bunch of content coming your way that’s all about helping you step away from work. You’ll be seeing weekly installments of travel style tips and tricks from Team SG’s Hitha Palepu (who literally wrote the book on how to pack), and plenty of off-duty outfit ideas.
I’m even updating my morning routine so you can see how I keep from letting W.R.E.A.M (work rule everything around me, obviously).
Below, 4 signs it’s time to put up your own “Out of Office” and take a break this month:
You’re sick of everything you usually wear
Usually the feeling that you can blindly reach into your wardrobe and pluck out a pair of pants and a shirt that go together is a blessing. So when you start looking at all the usual suspects in your closet with disdain, it’s probably time to switch things up.
When the ‘grab and go’ uniform you’ve spent so long curating starts to feel more like medieval torture, it might be time to shake things up. Meaning? It might be time for your off-duty wardrobe.
You’re literally sick
At the risk of sounding like a certain presidential candidate, I get very woo-woo about our bodies knowing what we need better than we do.
For instance, I’m currently battling a cold that showed up after back to back 80-degree days in New York this weekend. How silly, right?! It’s like the inverse of going outside in the winter with wet hair. Like, did I get too toasty warm laying out at the park on Sunday afternoon?
The only thing I can think is my body is ready for a proper out of office vacation (aka the upcoming long July 4th holiday) even more than I am.
You start dreaming about work
I’m not talking about the weird, living in the multiverse dreams where your boss is a centaur and your latest account is project managing a sentient aloe vera plant or something. I’m talking about the dreams where you get up, you go to work, you work…and then you wake up.
And have to go to work.
When your regular life invades your dream life with no weird REM-induced switch-ups to ponder when you wake up, it’s time for a break.
Everyone else is going on vacation, too
I’m probably not breaking any news here, but I’m a big believer that the universally acknowledged breaks from regular life are the best time for your own. Offices that stay open between Christmas and New Year’s, for instance, should be automatically audited in my opinion.
Right around now, everyone’s got that getaway itch. When emails start pinging back into your inbox with an OOO reply..it’s time to put yours up too.
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So! I’d love to hear what OOO means to you. Is there a lake house you go to every year? Are you and your significant other taking a much-needed getaway for the Fourth to somewhere warm where they serve drinks when you arrive (even if it’s 9am?)
Head to Instagram and comment on Style Girlfriend’s latest post with what you think of when you hear “Out of Office.”
