5 Good Reasons a Self-Employed Professional Should Take Vacation
Vacation is an important part of any healthy work-life balance. But for the self-employed, it can feel impossible to step away from the business you’ve worked so hard to build.
The most important thing to remember when thinking about vacation is that you need a break now and then. Here are five reasons why vacationing as a self-employed professional will actually help you be more productive in the long run:
1) You'll take on new ideas with a fresh perspective – We often have a tendency to get stuck in certain thought patterns and get tunnel vision when working on projects. By taking time off, we can recharge our brains and create innovative ideas that may have been evading us before.
2) You'll be more productive – Before you head out on vacation, make sure to plan what you want to accomplish when you get back. Knowing that you have a list of things to work on will keep you focused when the excitement over your time off dies down.
3) You'll come back with a new perspective – You may have heard of "reverse culture shock." This is when someone who has been traveling abroad comes home and it feels like a completely different country than what they left. It can be jarring and difficult to adjust. If this happens as a self-employed professional, make sure to take some extra time after getting back into your routine before diving into any major projects.
4) You'll be more motivated – By stepping away from the office to disconnect with your work, you'll be able to come back with a fresh perspective and renewed motivation. You'll have new goals, new motivations and a new outlook on your business.
5) You'll have time to reflect – Taking a break from your business will allow you to focus on other things in your life that may be lacking. This can be anything from self-care (exercise, eating healthy, hobbies, etc.) to spending quality time with family. Taking a break often helps us find the things we may have been neglecting in our everyday lives.
Author: David Miller |Follow David Miller on Google+]]>
Tags: vacation, self employed, professional, productivity, motivation, business advice, marketing tips - Comments: 0 - Add comment
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By David MillerI've never met anyone who didn't want to clear a load of work off their desk and go away on vacation. But we all know that it can be hard to get away from work while we are self-employed. So, I've put together this post as a reminder that you need to take time off and also how vacationing as a self-employed professional will actually help you be more productive in the long run. Here are 5 good reasons why taking time off is important for your business.These reasons all draw on the idea that we often get stuck in certain thought patterns and become tunnel visioned on projects. By taking time off, we can recharge our brains and create a fresh perspective on things. I've often said to business partner, "I think I've got a solution to this." Your mind will be clearer after you've had some time away from your work.So, before you go away for a week's holiday or a month-long retreat to the cabin at the end of the earth, make sure you have a list of things that you want to accomplish when you get back. It lets you keep your plans organised and helps you stay focused when the excitement lessens over your vacation.Having a fresh perspective is great, but sometimes it's hard to shake off the 'reverse culture shock' that comes from spending time abroad, or working in another culture. We all tend to get comfortable in our daily routine and can't imagine a life outside of it. If you feel like this as a self-employed professional, try taking a week where you keep your business commitments to a minimum before getting back into your full routine. Set this time limit with your partner or assistant if possible.Not only are vacations good for your health, they help you to be more productive by giving you new goals and a fresh outlook on your business. As I mentioned in point number two, you're likely to have a new perspective on your business when you return.So, before your vacation, make sure you have at least one, and preferably more, ideas for projects that you can start working on once you get back. These are not big projects but the smaller ones that give your business a boost. The more things you can knock off during your break the less time it'll take to get back to full productivity after your return.Someone once said "Leisure is too important a thing wholly to be left to leisure. It needs action and care." I'd go one better and say "Definitely not to leisure." If you're self-employed, you need to take your business with you. This means that you need websites, clients, marketing materials and as many tools as possible that help your business run smoothly on the road.You will become more productive if you carry a laptop or tablet with which to take notes or do work. Even if the hotelWi-Fi doesn't work for the entire break, having access to both email and social media is important so that you can keep in touch with your contacts back at home.
Conclusion
Taking time off is nice, but it's much more than just putting down your pen and going away. You need to organise your work and keep in touch with the people who matter the most. The best thing you can do to make sure that you get back on track once you get home is to have a couple of projects lined up before you go away.Not sure if it's time for a vacation? Any time from January to April is a good time of year to take a break from business projects and the stress around them.