Tips for enjoying the holidays well away from work
The holiday season is once again here, and with it comes time to relax, focus on family and friends and take stock in what is really important in life. However, being a small business owner can mean that your mind is ever connected to work. Pour yourself a glass of prosecco and read this to ensure you make the most of the festive season.
The small business owner’s mind can rarely escape from the unending yet welcome enquiries, staff issues and day to day creativity. But at Christmas phone calls from clients or employees will pull your focus away from your family, your magnificent new pair of socks or the pavlova. Like the tuneful bells of Christmas, your phone will constantly chime with the sounds of text messages and emails.
It’s easy to let business take over personal life, but as a small business owner it’s vital that you get some time away from work to give your mind a well deserved holiday. Everyone can benefit from a good break. So here are some tips for helping you switch off during the holidays.
Close down entirely for the week
If your business can be shut down for a week, consider closing from Christmas to the New Year. Your employees will love the time off and you won’t be bothered with urgent texts about something that just went wrong awry. This time is generally not as productive for workers anyway, as they all want to get home, be with their loved ones, and celebrate an extended festive season.
Just make sure you give your clients some notice that you’re closing up. Good clients will respect your decision and many will actually encourage it- you’ll be inspiring them to do the same.
Train someone to deal with your absence
If you plan on taking time off but are leaving the business open, encourage someone senior to be available to answer questions or take over duties.
Make sure employees are prepared for situations that could arise, but they can fix on their own. Can they use someone else’s computer if their laptop fails? If a client calls with a crisis, which staff members can deal with each situation? A tree of numbers with everyone’s contact details could work well in this situation.
Assign one or two people, not you, to be contactable in case a member of staff needs assistance and give those two people strict instructions about when they can contact you. It would need to be pretty urgent if you are being called away from a mulled wine and mince pie party.
Resist the urge to plan meetings during this time
When a client comes to you just before you take your days off and requests a meeting over the holidays, it can be difficult to resist that urge. That meeting, however, will take up time and space in your brain aside from the actual meeting time. You’ll prepare for it, you’ll think about it, you’ll plan what to say. If the meeting doesn’t go well, it could even affect the rest of your days off.
So push the meeting until after the holidays, an extra week won’t hurt. Another idea is to ask member of staff to attend the meeting for you.
Go the whole hog
If you’re taking time over the holidays, really take time. Don’t take time off but then spend that time constantly checking for work-related texts and emails or attending meetings. Put your phone away where you can’t hear it and get someone who isn’t invested in it to check it for you once in a while. No checking your email either! Set an outgoing email that lets people know when you’ll respond to their messages on your return. Leave a seasonal message on your voicemail wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and letting them know your days off. Then rest, relax, and enjoy your break.
Get in touch with us to find out how we can help you bring even more balance to your business.