Business owners have a passion for their work unlike any other people I know. We live it, eat it, breathe it, sleep it, get awakened in the middle of the night by it… and wouldn’t have it any other way. The difficulty can be getting away from work for a while. Yet to be at our best as entrepreneurs, we must make this a priority.
If there are 50 ways to leave your lover, there must be at least three ways to leave your business. Just slip out the back, Jack. Make a new plan, Stan. Set yourself free!
My husband and I have gone away on a trip at least once, each of the 31 years we’ve been married. For the last 20 of those years, I’ve been a business owner, which changed the way I thought about what it meant to take a vacation. For the first 15 years, since it was just me running the business, I never really took time off. It was always a work-cation so that I could keep the business running and bills paid. The last five years afforded me a little more flexibility since I have a full team by my side, but it was trickier than I thought to leave my lover for a couple of weeks – yet oh, so necessary!
Why Time Off is So Important
Velocity Leadership Coaching recently published an article about what makes good leaders great. One of the tips was to “keep a beneficial schedule” which includes the right amount of rest and time away from working or thinking about work – and has two great payoffs:
- It fosters strategic and creative thinking.
- It brings balance and everyone’s best self to the organization.
We all want to bring our “best self” to our businesses and often don’t realize just how much time we spend working – even when we’re not physically at our desks. Scheduling time away from the company needs to be as much a part of our strategic business plan as growing revenues. It makes sense that you can’t sustain growth without it!
3 Ways to Get Away
After conferring with my mastermind group and other colleagues about how they can get away and recharge, I have compiled a few ideas that resonated the most:
#1 – Get off the Grid
In 2020, just before the pandemic shut everything down, we went on a two-week, campervan, touring trip through New Zealand. I didn’t really want to take my laptop overseas and while I could have upgraded my cellular plan so I could easily receive emails on my phone, I decided to go cold turkey and be out of touch – for two whole weeks.
It sounds silly to me, even as I write it, that I feared letting go for ten days, but it is the reality for many entrepreneurs. My saving grace was that our team handled everything, and I had a failsafe set up so that if they needed anything, they could text my husband. I didn’t hear a peep and it was a trip of a lifetime. Coming back to shut downs in the U.S. after such a mind-body getaway, I was even more prepared to help our clients navigate the murky waters ahead.
#2 – Short and Sweet
The pandemic taught us that we can go batty if we don’t leave our own four walls and get away to a different view – even if it’s just four different walls. But it’s not always necessary to leave your lover for two weeks at a time.
One of my colleagues plans a short, four-day weekend once per quarter when he unplugs. In years past, he was able to successfully do a stay-cation at home, but now knows that it’s equally important to leave home base. Now that we are beginning to have more freedom to travel, he is going on a four-day golf trip to Palm Springs. In our great state of Colorado, there are many resorts and attractions to explore in Breckenridge, Aspen, Palisade, Salida and Steamboat Springs. The key to ensuring a getaway, he says, is to get it on your calendar at the beginning of each quarter. You’ll have something to look forward to and can block it off as no-work time.
#3 – Make it Your Business Norm
Another colleague sets aside four weeks every year when he unplugs completely – yet he never goes anywhere. For the same two weeks every July and the end of every December, he takes time off to pursue his personal hobbies – like gardening and fixing up cars. His regular clients know this happens each year and he gives his new clients a heads-up at least a month or two in advance so they can plan for his absence. He is available for emergencies, but he says that most of the time, people can wait two weeks.
Make a New Plan, Stan
I have done the first two getaway protocols during the last ten years but I’ve yet to try #3. My new thinking is that, especially with a team keeping everything running, I can probably do all three!
Your task, and mine, is to take a look at the next 12 months and make a plan. Explore what combination of the ideas above you’d like to pursue and start blocking the time out on your calendar. It’s precious – and essential – time. Not only is it good for you to get away, recharge, and refresh – it’s good for your clients and your business overall.
What getaway disciplines do you have for yourself? I’d love to get your feedback so I can continue to build out my own and help our entrepreneur peers do the same! Send me a note at cindy@5280accelerator.com.