Ask HN: How do you deal with running errands guilt?
It's so happened, that most of businesses surrounding me are also only open during exactly same time.
I am a human, and I need to go to doctors, therapists, other time I need to visit some place to let's say choose some furniture to buy, or just to drink a cup of coffee in a lunch time on a terrace of a cafe. I am human, and I feel I am becoming less human if I don't allow myself such things!
The problem is that I don't understand how to talk about that with my employer. Usually when I need to get out, I just put the "afk" status on slack and go.
What happens after: if I had no slack mentions, and nothing happened, I feel okay, as if my "bad move" went unnoticed. But if I see some unviewed mentions, somebody was pinging me, I immediately feel lots of shame and guilt. My reaction is: "I'm here now, let's work work work! I am sorry I was absent people!" It feels really bad and weird.
HN, did you also ever feel like this? What strategies you found useful?