December likes to act like a performance review. Are you merry enough? Efficient enough? Have you achieved appropriate levels of sparkle? Meanwhile, your nervous system is just trying to survive the grocery store parking lot.

There comes a time—usually somewhere between the last frantic work email and the moment your cat decides to leap onto your laptop—when you realize the day has overstayed its welcome. You’ve survived the meetings, the deadlines, the traffic, the existential crises. Now what?