We may or may not have some coworkers who read this blog, so we’re not going to come right out and say we fully endorse the idea of playing hooky….buuuuut every now and then you just need a day to yourself. Whether it’s a boatload of errands that haven’t been doable on weekends, getting ready for a big upcoming event, or you just need a mental health day, here are our tips on maximizing your day off.

How To Call Out

Definitely the most daunting part of a hooky day is actually getting the day to yourself. Depending on your office’s flexibility this might be easy…or it might not. Here are our tips for exchanging work hours for home/outside/play/errand hours!

• Call out sick. Use the tried and true “Not feeling well” excuse and email your team to let them know you won’t be in the office today. It’s way more believable to do this in the morning rather than the night before. Set your alarm and send off the email then go back to sleep 🙂
• Check with your company to see if mental health days are part of sick time. If you’re a health nut that rarely uses sick time, cashing in on a day to repair your mental wellbeing can be just as valuable.
• Take a personal day. Can’t stand the white lie of a sick day? Log your day off with work beforehand as a personal day. No excuse needed, and you’re still coming out with a full day off on your hands!

What To Do

Now that you’ve accomplished the hard part, here’s where you get to do the fun stuff! The world is your oyster! The day is your oyster! Here are some go-to hooky plans we love to fill the free day with.

• Have an at-home spa day. We love this cheap face-masks and we’re huge fans of Essie nail polish.
• Coordinate a “group hooky day” and hang with friends. If you live in LA, check out our posts about favorite things to do on the East and West Side.
• Nap. Then nap some more. Can we just take a minute and guarantee we are all behind on sleep? Use this day off to catch up on some Zs.
• Take a hike or midday workout class you’ve been wanting to try. Being active on a day typically reserved for desk sitting and paper pushing is a great way to feel like you’ve accomplished a lot with your day.
• Make a to-do list and get things done. Make appointments, get your haircut, clean the house. You’ll feel like you had a way more productive day if you get a few things done.

Our “Playing Hooky” Must-Haves

There are definitely certain “ingredients” that can make your hooky day feel that much more luxurious. Instead of your everyday shorts and t-shirt combo for hanging around the house, slip on your comfiest robe and silkiest pajamas to lounge in. Light your favorite candle, curl up with your favorite cup of tea, and hunker down for some quality chapters of that book you’ve been meaning to read for months!

Cozy Robe (Amazon — $24.99) and Slippers (Amazon — $18.88)

Scented Candles — Amazon $15.64

Bath Bombs — Amazon $28.49

A Good Book — Amazon Kindle Unlimited $9.99 / month

Have you played hooky from work before? What excuse did you use to call out? What did you fill the time with?? Let us know in the comments!