Jul 29, 2019
Take Time Off...Guilt Free!
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Take Time Off...Guilt Free!
How much guilt free joy do you have in your life right now? Or even just time for yourself?
Considering how many clients and people that I meet ask me how to have it, i’m guessing you’d say not enough right now.
Most of the time, when we’re in a job and enjoying holidays and weekends completely off, we actually put plans in and feel nothing but excited to follow through with them.
Doing what we know will make us happy.
We know (more often than not) that we can really switch off and there is zero guilt involved, it’s what you’re SUPPOSED to do with your time off, right?
Easy peasy!
We don’t get that in our businesses in the same way because it’s our ‘baby’. We’re the authority and subordinate all at the same time!
We aren’t governed by the usual 9-5 situation. We don’t have anyone giving us those boundaries, telling us when is ‘work’ time and when is ‘play’ time.
So it’s really easy to NOT switch off. To NOT find the time for the things that we love and to feel like we have to be on alert at ALL TIMES...unless we give OURSELVES permission to.
All of a sudden we feel like ALL time should be work time. That hustle mentality creeps in and we’re doing 16 hour days. It can be especially bad when you feel you aren’t making the money that you want to just yet.
It’s a bad habit to get into, not just for your business but for your health! And one that will stick. Everytime you catch yourself saying things like ‘It’s just until I hit 6 figures, then I can take time for me’. No no my friend...it won’t happen!
There’s always that next goal, that next milestone, you will have created a habit that’s hard to get out of and completely unnecessary.
It’s GOOD for your business for you to take time for the things you love. Start as you mean to go on. Don’t wait ‘until’!
We feel like we should be ‘on’ all the time, boundaries go out the window, we feel stressed, tired, negative, frustrated...and we’ve all of a sudden lost that thing that was one of the main reasons we started a business in the first place.
That freedom. That time spent with loved ones. That time spent doing MORE of the things we love, not LESS!
There are SO many reasons why it’s important to make sure you’re a) taking time for yourself to do the things you love and b) Doing things that bring you pure joy. AND do it guilt free!
When you can get your head around why it’s necessary it’s a great start to actually making it happen. AND why taking some time for you doesn’t mean you’ll make less money. It will just make you more strategic with your time and your schedule.
You need that break to clear your head! When you’re constantly thinking and using your brain you are using up SO much energy and it just isn’t sustainable in the long term. The brain uses about 20% of the bodies energy and it’s only accounts for about 2% of the mass, so that gives you an idea just how much energy it needs.
You’ll head straight towards burnout, not show up as your best self for loved ones OR your clients, decisions will feel harder and problems will seem so much bigger than they actually are.
How often have you had a stint of hard work, felt exhausted, then taking a day or two off has made you come back more productive, more happy, more motivated and more clear headed? Full of ideas!
Taking a break actually INCREASES productivity, motivation, problem solving and creativity, it builds your resilience up too. The bottom line is your brain needs to rest, and you need to be able to feel fulfilled!
By taking time for you I don’t mean watching Netflix. I mean doing something that you’re going to love. Something that will bring you joy. Something that will energise you. Something creative, yoga, dancing, singing, making jewellery, walking, trampolining, paddle boarding, sailing...you get the idea! Hobbies rather than chores or numbing!
You can create and maintain your boundaries in your business that allow for, and structure around, you having time to do the things you love.
If you schedule the time in and prepare yourself so the guilt isn’t there, there’s nothing hanging over you.
Which means it’s going to happen.
So how can you prepare? My favourite is to put an auto responder on so you’re not panicking about emails.
Fit the rest of your work around what you have scheduled in. Whether it’s a walk or exercise every morning, a holiday or date night once per week...schedule when you start and finish your day to allow for it
Let clients know and they won’t be expecting a response at those times.
This is why i love doing the ‘ideal day’ exercise with clients. If you know what you want from your days and weeks it’s SO much more likely you’ll actually get it!
If you’re not finding time to do the things that bring you joy, what’s the point? Seriously?! If you’re always in work mode, not having time for the things and people you love, then what are you doing it for?
One word that comes up time and time again is that it’s ‘selfish’.
I would counter argue that until the cows came home.
How are you going to show up for loved ones when you’re stressed and mentally drained? How are you going to show up for your clients, the people that are actually paying you for your service!
If you don’t give your clients the best service you possibly can, where are those awesome testimonials coming from?
NOT taking time for you CAN directly affect your bottom line.
Plus, you’ll procrastinate and WASTE time by not taking it. So you may as well have some fun right?!
Ask yourself what stories you’re telling yourself about what it means if you take time for yourself, or to do something you love, or spend time with people you love.
Then work out what you actually want to do!
Take some time to go back over your life and think about things you loved doing but let go at some point.
So what can you do that you love? What brings you joy? What hobbies did you love as a teenager before you cared what people thought?
I’ve been really intentional about doing more of this lately and I love it and feel such a difference.
I just spent 3 days and nights camping at a festival. I felt very nostalgic about it. Firstly because when I was a child we didn’t go abroad, we did staycations and often went camping, and I had the best time!
My Dad was a teacher in a private school and he also helped head up the CCF (combined cadet force) and ran lots of ‘outdoorsy’ excursions and I used to go along for the ride. I was a really outdoorsy kid and I completely lost that part of myself when I became a teenager and this stuff wasn’t cool and I put FAR too much importance on what other people thought.
So i’m getting back in touch with it, I even went paddle boarding at the weekend.
We used to go camping, caving, kayaking, rock climbing, rock pooling in cornwall, hiking, fishing, cycling, all sorts.
I actually also just bought a glorious vintage Chloe Raleigh racing bike. I need to clean her up a bit and then i’m ready to go and i’m really looking forward to it!
You make time for the things you prioritise. So make it a priority.
YOU are your biggest investment.
Make it non negotiable.
Make time for the things you love. It’s good for the brain, good for productivity, good for your health, good for your mental health and good for the soul so there really is nothing to feel guilty about!
If you know that now is the time to start changing things for yourself and want to explore this further, have any questions or want some accountability to make sure you’re doing the things you need to then please book in a free discovery call so we can see what needs to happen to get you from where you’re at right now, to the successful business owner you know you can be!!
Fx