Can you really take time off?
As we head towards Easter, many of us in business are taking a much-needed holiday. But are you really taking a complete break? – or did you pack your laptop?
When you get back will you have to work three times as hard to catch up, or will you be dealing with issues as they arise while you’re “on holiday”?
I once worked with a business owner who’d been in business for 20 years. He had what looked like a successful business selling carpets and flooring. But he’d never felt able to take a holiday for more than a week in all those 20 years because he didn’t trust his team to keep his business profitable if he was away for longer. *
We can get into the habit of being busy. There are typically 3 reasons for this:
1.????Learned behaviour
Our beliefs about ourselves are formed at a very early age based on words told to us by a parent, teacher or other carer. They may have expressed an opinion to the effect that you’ll only be lovable if you work hard, or that “the devil finds work for idle hands”, meaning that trouble will come if you don’t keep busy.
Such emotional imprints are then further reinforced by the behaviours, judgements and views of people around us and in Society generally.
2.????Distraction
Busily filling every hour of our days can also be a means by which we avoid having to face up to something within ourselves that needs dealing with. It’s a way of protecting our ego. Being busy means we’ll conveniently have no time for reflection or for working on those aspects of ourselves that may be troubling us.
3.????Need to control
Perhaps the biggest reason business owners and solopreneurs find themselves struggling with an endless to do list is fear. Fear of losing control, of losing out to the competition or fear of failure keep us having to be involved in every activity and every decision.
Ten years ago, I set up my coaching business with a mindset that had a bit of all three of the above. I told myself that if I wasn’t coaching, I should be selling. Anything else that wasn’t directly going to win me clients had to be done outside business hours – so I created very long working days for myself. I set myself a financial target that, once achieved, would be my cue for relaxing – just a little. (It doesn’t work like that by the way!)
Sure enough, at the end of my first year in business, by working flat out, I was nearly at my target.
And then I lost a client and another one …
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And so began the rollercoaster. Up and down, up and down! I know what it’s like!
The side effects of working flat out aren’t good. It comes at too great a cost. Eventually I woke up, understood what I was doing and found another way.
Just two days ago I was speaking with a guy whose business, like so many, took a massive hit during the pandemic. His reaction to that now is to take on every piece of work that comes his way. He’s now so busy he can’t see a way out and told me he’s thinking about quitting and going to get a job.
This is one of the reasons I’ve put together a brand new webinar for business owners and solopreneurs. It’s designed to help grow your business in a balanced way. I’m running it on Tuesday 18th April at 11am .
It’s for you if you’re feeling caught up in the rollercoaster of business.
What would it mean to you if I showed you how you could save 10 hours each week? 10 hours that you can choose to spend as you please, whether you’re on holiday or not, maybe on some priceless time with your family or friends?
Inside the webinar I’ll be covering
I guarantee you’ll leave this webinar inspired and energised with fresh thinking to implement immediately into your business.
If you’re ready for that, the next step is to REGISTER HERE . It’s just ￡25.
Enjoy your holiday!
*After working with me for just 6 months, this client was able to take his family away for 3 weeks before his twins went off to university that year. It was the longest time those kids had been away with their dad in their whole lives up to that point!