When was the last time you took a break? I mean like a vacation… when? And by vacation I mean disconnecting, taking time off without checking your work email/texts/whatever? Bet it’s been a while.
I’m the worst about this, by the way. I have worked for myself since the last century and with the exception of during law school term breaks my first year (working as a 1L was not permitted), I suck at taking time off.
Don’t follow my example. For the record, I am getting better about it myself. I’m currently working on a plan to take some real time off.
It is extremely important to give ourselves time to do, well, nothing… or as close to nothing as possible. Our bodies, including our brains, need time off. To reset, process out some cortisol (etc.), means we need to reduce responsibilities to as close to zero as one can. And we need to do that for as long as we can–science says the longer the break, the greater the rewards.
Before you say you don’t have the money (much less the time), you don’t need to go somewhere expensive (or anywhere at all) to have a vacation–you just need to do less, much less, and especially not of the work variety. For example, you could get a novel and sit in your back yard on a lawn chair with your feet in a kiddie pool and just read for pleasure. If you are lucky like me and live near an ocean (or lake), take a day to get your feet in the sand. If you like to hike, go casually hike a trail.
I said “casually” because if you are scheduling a training regimen kind of activity, that defeats the purpose. Don’t take time off from work and then fill it with goals, things to achieve. Just relax. Chill out. Do not strive.
That’s surprisingly hard for many of us: doing as close to nothing as possible. But your brain will thank you for it.
Family vacations are great, sure, but I encourage at least some time solo. If you are partnered with kids, maybe trade off a day each on the family vacation–Tuesday you get to roam free, Thursday your partner does while you take the kids. Or, better yet, take a family vacation and take a solo one (see more time off the better, above).
As a small businessperson, you may feel like taking time off is the worst thing you can do for your business, if not downright impossible. It’s possible. The business will not fail if you go dark for a while. Moreover, I can tell you that, at least anecdotally, if the phone isn’t ringing now, it will if you take time off (do not answer or check voicemail!).
Don’t forget, returning those calls can wait until you get back.