Are You Ready To Take A Break

I did something last month that is pretty darn scary for a business owner... I went dark! I stepped out of my business, I didn't look at my email and for the most part, I avoided anything work-related, and IT FELT GOOD. There are so many incredible things about being a business owner, but one thing I do miss sometimes about the normal work grind is the ability to step away completely when you take a vacation or when you go home for the day. I chose to take my break week to celebrate my daughter and husband's birthdays, but with the holidays coming up, my guess is you might be interested in doing this too. I thought I'd share what my team and I did to prepare.

First, of all, it does take some practice and you might not want to head straight into taking an entire week off, but with practice, you'll make it work. Alright, let's dig in!

Pick your dates- Simple right? Yep, you've got this! Here's the thing, a lot of us business owners feel guilty taking time for ourselves. Have you ever been on vacation or planned a day off and then without fail had that one person who could ONLY talk to you when you weren't supposed to be available...so then you make yourself available? You shift your scheduled events for the day to accommodate this unexpected work call which results in you feeling stressed, your family feeling irritated and you not getting a true break. Yep, guilty! Selecting your dates ahead of time allows you to alert your clients and subs so you can all plan accordingly. Pick your dates and stick to them.

Shout it from the Rooftops- It's funny because I told everyone that would listen that I would be on vacation because I did not want to leave anyone in a lurch, however, there were still those that trickled in that had forgotten or had a last-minute task that needed to be handled. When you feel like you are talking about it too much, talk about it a little more! To help prepare clients, I sent out emails ahead of time, I added it to my email signature, I blocked out the time on my calendar so people were unable to schedule calls with my scheduler and at the end of every call or email session, I added a little "And just a reminded, I'll be out of the office from ______ to _______.

Set up an "Emergency Contact"- Each time I have taken a break, this has been my saving grace. Will those that email you be receiving any sort of response? What about an emergency (that vanity arrived broken, now what?) I have mentioned time and again about my love for email management. Email management not only keeps your inbox in check and organized, but it also provides an overseer in the event you are on a vacation. This person not only helps to filter out a communication to help avoid vacation interruptions, but it helps to keep the communication flood-gates closed