Leading by Example: Taking Breaks

Last week I did something I haven’t done in over two years: I took a short?vacation.?

Though I love to talk about the importance of giving your mind a break, I also have to admit to my workaholic tendencies. It’s hard for me to step away from work for more than a couple days at a time. My preferred method to avoid burnout is to focus on microbreaks—finding moments throughout the day to take a walk, read a poem or short story, or work on a painting. Between my daily microbreaks and my weekend tech breaks, I find that I’m able to maintain a high level of performance over time.

But, of course, we all benefit from sustained breaks now and then. So this last week I turned off my notifications and flew to Hawaii with my husband. It was a wonderful and very relaxing week, and I’m so happy we could enjoy some time off.

On top of the personal benefits of vacations, there’s a team benefit, as well. Employees take their cues on behavior from company leaders, and if you never take a moment for yourself, they’ll assume they never should, either. So if you’re struggling with guilt about taking a much-needed day off, remember: you’re doing it for your employees, too. ;)

Here are a few more recommendations I have for leading by example to prevent burnout

• Communicate your schedule. This can be as simple as letting your team know your general working hours, when you’ll be working from a different location and may be online earlier or later than usual, when you’ll be unavailable due to meetings or travel, etc. Especially in a remote, distributed workforce, it’s important to be clear about working hours—and it can be helpful, especially when dealing with the conflicting habits of night owls and early birds, for everyone to understand when team members are likely to be messaging them, and when they’re expected to respond.
• Set expectations. You should set expectations for when people need to be available, and make sure that if you’re contacting them outside of those hours, it’s clear whether or not you need an immediate response. Sometimes I work late at night or on a weekend and need to send my team a note. When I do, I make sure to clarify whether this is something urgent that needs to be addressed immediately or can wait until Monday.?
• Demonstrate good habits. Share your healthy habits with the team. Whether that’s taking a day off when you’re sick, actually turning off when you’re on vacation, or being open about your microbreaks throughout the day, sharing the ways you stay well will help them stay well, too.

Demonstrating healthy communication, expectations, and habits will set your team up for success in the long run. What other ways do you lead by example?