The driving force for many people to start their own businesses is freedom. But with no HR department forcing you to use up your annual leave you may find yourself going months or years at a time without a proper break. After the year 2020 has been, you need to give yourself time off to relax and recharge.
I know that having a holiday when you run your own business does not mean just turning on your Out of Office and disappearing for a few weeks without a care in the world. Here’s how to make it more manageable and have a break without constantly dipping in and out of work:
- Decide how much work time is appropriate while on holidays and stick to it. For some that may be a big chunk of time every second day or others may prefer a shorter block every day. Whatever works best for you and your business.
- Schedule it in – pick the best time of day for you. I opt for early morning, before the day starts so I’m not receiving immediate replies to the emails I am sending. Set an alarm, not just to start work but to stop as well.
- Communicate – if you are holidaying with loved ones let them know ahead of time when you will need this work time. I also suggest removing yourself physically in order to completely focus and maximise the time you have allocated to work. You could just hide in a bedroom with the door closed or move to a cafe.
- Focus only on the important stuff – rather than responding to or actioning every email in your inbox, set up an email folder TO ACTION IN 2021 and move anything that can wait until your return in there. It will all be in one spot and you may find that miraculously some of these issues resolve themselves without your input while you are away.
- Make sure you have your Out of Office message on. This sounds obvious but many people don’t! State clearly in your message when the sender is likely to hear back from you and what to do if there is in fact a real emergency (which unless you are literally saving lives, nothing is ever THAT urgent).
Holidays are the best circuit breaker – you will come back recharged with fresh perspectives. Remember, you have well and truly earned it this year.
Enjoy!
