Why taking a break is a good idea.
Time Out of Your Business…
Most small business owners work many months in a row at 70- to 80-hour work weeks and many are doing the business. As business owners we often hit a wall and sometimes we don’t even know it. We become that cranky boss more days than not. The trouble is this kind of work pace is unsustainable. Creativity suffers, resilience falters and one’s sense of accomplishment plummets. You fail to come up with new ideas or motivating yourself to work through those tough parts on assignments. You develop a general feeling of being less engaged in your work. You need a break.
About 31 percent of entrepreneurs work at least 10 hours a day, and 15 percent work every day of the week, according to a Discover Small Business Watch survey. The poll also found that 59 percent of respondents define a day off as being available for calls and emails, or working at least part of the day.
Taking time out from work to reboot your life is not just a new and enduring trend; it’s a necessity in our stress-ridden world,” write Catherine Allen, Nancy Bearg, Rita Foley and Jaye Smith, the co-authors of “Reboot Your Life: Energize Your Career & Life by Taking a Break.”And how, exactly. It starts with good business planning. Building a business model that allows you to take time out is possible for most businesses. It’s just a case of finding that help and working through the challenges. But don’t forget, the planning and implementation doesn’t happen over night – sometimes it takes many years.
Simple steps you can take yourself:
Take an hour at your favourite coffee shop, or park just to think deeply about when a break makes sense for you, and how you’re going to make it happen.
There’s no once size fits all solution for every business owner, since needs can vary so much across industries. But some things are true across the board — like writing your goals down to help crystallize and clarify next steps. Why do you want to take time off? When would you take it? Would someone step in to take care of business while you were away, or would you notify customers and clients that the business would be closed?
In some industries, these questions are easily answered – like the building industry where it’s considered the norm to take 4 weeks off from work at Christmas but time off outside this could result in you losing contracts or work flow. Or the accounting industry where it’s expected the office will be closed for 2-3 weeks at Christmas.
Great business owners can turn their business over to a capable No. 2 to run the day-to-day operations during the reboot break. When looking for your No. 2, identify the critical bits of the business that need covering. Whether it’s technical skill, computer IT speciality stills or know how to service customers, listen and solve problems.
The last point, communication is extremely important — especially if you want to make the most of your time off.
– Document your critical processes that you normally do for those who will be supporting you. Don’t forget to include the KPIs.
– Finished as many business issues, when possible
– Prepare your backup for anything that may come along, such as new business
– Let everyone know important contact information, including that of the business advisors, technical support and maintenance people.
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