The holiday season is under full sway and for those with their own business one of two situations will probably have occurred. You’ve either taken a couple of weeks off already but are feeling guilty for not taking your mind off your work and checking on emails. Or you’re feeling guilty because you have not yet taken the plunge and shut down for that break that your family have been demanding. You know you could do with a break too but there never seems to be a good time to stop the work flow.
How do you apply the brakes when you’re used to grabbing every spare minute you can to do just that little bit more? Life with your own business is high-pressured and keeps you on the go. You get used to that pace of life and it’s very hard to wind down. This is even more so if you work from home as you cannot escape from it, particularly if your work area is part of the main family home. If you have an office that is independent of your home and you employ people then you may need to pay them to take off the same holiday time as you. There always seem to be added costs.
Yet everyone needs a holiday and a longer time off has been proven to be more beneficial for you than odd days taken throughout the year. We all need downtime to take stock and recharge. For those with children, a couple of weeks off during the school holidays can solve some of those childcare problems. No more wondering what to do with them whilst you have that important telephone call and all they want to do is play in and out of your feet.
You can use time off to remind yourself what your family values are and why you’re actually working as hard as you are on your own business. They are the main reason why you work, after all – aren’t they? Don’t you owe it to them to cut off all contact from work matters and devote the time to them instead for a while?
The ideal way to go about this is to book a holiday time slot well in advance and let everyone know when that will be. Advertise it on your website, if you have one. Type a message onto your invoices, job estimates, correspondence slips and any other stationery you use to contact customers, suppliers and the public.
The last thing you should do before you close down your office or workspace is to leave messages everywhere. Messages can be left on telephones, mobiles, websites, Facebook, Twitter, Linked In and any other social media you use to promote and find work. A date of return should be stated – I would suggest that you make this one day after you actually return to work. This will give you time and space to go through messages and emails that have cropped up whilst you were away and complete any outstanding work before you are inundated with new calls and queries. When this has all been set up close the door and forget it all until you return.
If you work at home in a separate room or outbuilding then close the door and do not go back in before the holiday has ended (particularly important if you are having a staycation or some of the days based at home).
If you use part of a communal home area then make sure you have tidied away everything to do with your work. Put files and ongoing projects away in cupboards and papers or stock in drawers. If there’s no room to do this then save a couple of cardboard boxes and fill these up. Put them in the loft for the duration of your holiday and forget them.
On your holiday, whether at home or away, force yourself to switch off completely and relax. In the vast majority of cases your work won’t fall apart without you there. You will be able to pick it all up again when you return.
Time away from the day to day should boost your reserves and give you extra energy to tackle your work when you’re back. You’ll be raring to go and will have more of the support of your family as they will have had you to themselves for a while. Providing the holiday went well, of course…
