Take a Break and Thrive

Owning a small business requires all-consuming focus and it can be really hard to take a break. Yet it’s important for your health and the health of your business to un-plug and get away sometimes in order to gain some perspective.

taking a break

Lake Louise and the Canadian Rockies

Recently I traveled to the Rocky Mountains of Alberta Canada for a two-week vacation in Banff and Jasper National Parks. Traveling to Canada brought back old memories (I’m from Vancouver) but also a fresh perspective. Climbing steep paths and breathing the mountain air was invigorating. I felt refreshed by the physical exertion and the natural beauty around me, and in these new surroundings I was able to see myself and my business in a new light. Away from the constant demands of day-to-day tasks, I was able to free-associate and dream about broader goals.

Getting away from the daily routine is key to being able to think creatively as a business owner. When we give ourselves time to relax, sleep in, exercise and do something fun that has nothing to do with our business, it can actually make us more productive and can even lead to new ideas. According to Tony Schwartz’s opinion piece in the New York Times, a “growing body of multidisciplinary research shows that strategic renewal—including daytime workouts, short afternoon naps, longer sleep hours, more time away from the office and longer, more frequent vacations—boosts productivity, job performance and, of course, health.”

John Donahoe, CEO of EBay, spends two weeks every year at a beach house on Cape Cod with bad cell phone service and no internet connection. “Without a constant barrage of work issues to respond to, I find that my mind calms down and my intuition begins to come alive. I am able to see things through a more creative lens and new ideas often emerge from my ‘time off’”.

You don’t have to travel a far distance to take a break. You can set aside 10 minutes a day for quiet reflection or a walk around the block.  Even that short time away from work can be beneficial, especially if you do it regularly.

As small business owners, the demands of the business and our own drive to create the best product or offer the best service can lead to workaholic behavior, which can actually make us less productive. With the computer always on and the cell phone always in our pocket, it’s hard not to read every new email or respond to every call or text. We become reactive instead of proactive and can drift away from what is most important.

We often worry that things will fall apart if we’re not there or not constantly connected. But if we have developed good systems with well-trained employees we can trust, it may be easier to get away than we realize. The business can survive for a night or a few days without constant contact or input. And, more importantly, it may thrive because of that break and that time for reflection.

A Birthday Reflection

take a break

No matter what we do, we get older every year! Our birthdays remind us of this fact and we can’t ignore it. It’s my birthday weekend so thinking about change is particularly on my mind.

Early birthdays came with exciting milestones: being old enough to stay out late, attend a concert without parental supervision, borrow and drive the family car, and finally get to vote. Now that I’m at an age when I get carded for senior discounts and asked to join AARP, birthdays take on a different kind of significance. Who is speeding time up?

I think we should celebrate birthdays at every age. There are all kinds of ways to do that — throwing a party, going out to eat with friends, or just sleeping in.

For a small business owner, it’s hard to take time off when the demands of the business are all consuming. Yet we must take a break …and once a year is a minimum! We need to find ways to create balance in our lives and birthdays are a great excuse and opportunity for reflection and celebration.

A Day For Myself
I have made it an annual tradition to not work on my birthday. If my birthday falls on a weekday, I do not schedule clients or teach classes. I spend at least part of the day alone, out of doors and, if possible, out of the city. I’ll go on a hike in coastal Marin, meditate at Spirit Rock or at the Green Gulch Zen Center, or just find a way to sit still somewhere. I reflect on the past year and think about the year ahead and what is most important in my business and in my life.

Getting away from my daily routine is often how I get the chance to think creatively as a business owner. On this annual birthday “retreat” I slow down to reflect on my life, my health, my family and every blessing no matter how small. This day of contemplation with fresh air and exercise does a lot for my spirit and helps me to recharge for the year ahead.

Celebrating the Season
My dear friend Cece, who has now passed, introduced me to the idea of a “birthday season” over a decade ago. It started for her by accident. Her many friends would call to take her out for breakfast, brunch or dinner on her birthday and she would get fully booked up for the day. Then she started making plans for the day before her birthday and the day after. Finally, she announced with great joy and laughter that she was officially celebrating her birthday season, which started 10 days before the date and continued for 10 days afterwards. She invented her own way to celebrate so that she could connect individually with all the people she cared about.

I love this idea and have enjoyed extending my birthday into a “birthday season”. I have introduced this to others and have implemented the concept for family members’ and close friends’ birthdays, too.

A New Tradition
My first grandson was born a year ago and it now makes the month of October even more significant to me. I’ve decided to start a new birthday tradition—spending special one-on-one time with him. This year it may be only a swing at the park but next year he’ll be ready to run the bases!

What is your birthday tradition?