Overworking and not taking pay time off also becomes a coping mechanism for people. People want to subconsciously avoid being by themselves, facing their own deeper anxieties or insecurities. And it's tough to face those things when you have every form of work competing for your attention. What else could you be doing that actually requires your time and energy that now you can't do because you're doing something else related to work? This is a reminder for me. I have historically been horrible at p t o.