Did you know that you can take a vacation when you work for yourself? I took a vacation last weekend and I feel so refreshed! It’s what I call self-care AND I think this directly benefits my clients.
Well, let’s call it what it really was…a Girls’ Weekend Away. It was actually two days of driving (8 hours in the car is not actually considered ‘being on vacation’ right?) and two beautiful, sunny days in a gorgeous home one block from the beach and overlooking a bay with four of my high school besties.
One of us slept in. The rest of us were up at the crack of dawn walking on the sand watching the sun rise. Sunrises have never seemed as beautiful as while having heart to hearts with ladies who truly ‘get’ me.
Take a Vacation
I’m all for taking vacations…for getting away from our day to day responsibilities even if that simply means turning off the computer and phone for a day or two. (And if you consider not working for two days in a row a vacation, then I take one every weekend!)
“Live a little. Your business will survive.”
-Michelle Frechette
I know you’re probably thinking “I can’t! What if….”
But you know what? Every once in a while you need to take care of you.
As an entrepreneur, you need to get out of your daily routine to refresh and find balance. You need to so that you can better take care of others. (What do they say on airplanes? Fit the oxygen mask on your own mouth before turning to help those around you? If you’re not breathing you can’t help them!)
Getting away will help you avoid burnout, and spending time with your family and friends will help you remember who you are. So many entrepreneurs get caught up with taking care of others that they ‘lose’ themselves. Being around others helps you remember why you are who you are!
Taking a vacation will help you be more creative. It forces you to use your mind in ways you don’t always. It makes your imagination work! You might just find the answer to a problem you or your client have been facing!
How can you take a vacation when you’re an entrepreneur?
If you have staff working with you, Michelle Frechette suggests a few things you can do in her book A Good Firm Handshake (and other essential business tips).
- Train your staff well.
- Empower decision makers within your staff.
- Tie up as many loose ends as you can before you leave.
- Designate only one person to call you in case of emergency.
- Set an out of office email to auto reply in your absence with who to contact in your absence.
No team? No worries!
- Tie up as many loose ends as you can.
- Schedule your vacation between projects or during a lull in work
- Find someone you can trust to triage your email and any issues while you’re gone. (I have two ladies in my work circle and we all are able to cover for each other should something arise.)
A little planning might help you feel more comfortable taking a vacation. Schedule it. Plan it. Tell your clients you’ll be unavailable…they don’t need to know the details other than who to contact in an emergency. And the likelihood there will be an emergency really is slim.
Take Action
Take a few days. Then come back refreshed and ready to carry on. Just like I did.
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