It’s been a whirlwind of a year. Business has been tough, it’s been all over the news and we’ve heard as much at our meetings. Many people have been hustling extra hard, working extra hours or through the weekend and some have even decided to get a second job. As the year draws to a close, and before we run straight into another year of work, it’s essential that we take a step back, have a break, and recharge our collective batteries.
Taking a break doesn’t have to mean a 5-star overseas holiday, it could be a simple weekend away or staycation. Taking some time off from the hustle and bustle of everyday life is essential for your professional success. It can help you maintain your motivation, boost your mental health, and benefit your overall well-being.
Here are 5 ways a holiday or break can benefit your business:
Personal Wellbeing & Stress Reduction
Work Sleep Eat Repeat. Sometimes, that’s what a work week feels like!
Working without proper rest and time away from the desk is incredibly bad for your mental health. It can lead to stress, anxiety, and burnout. Having a holiday allows you to take a step back from the hustle and look inward. You get time to decompress, to do something fun, and simply look after YOU! This can reduce your stress levels and enhance your emotional well-being.
Work can also be hard on your body – whether you’re busy working on the tools or sitting behind a desk. Prolonged stress can also negatively impact your health by increasing your risk of some conditions. Taking time off to enjoy some physical activities can help you recharge, increase your energy levels, and even strengthen your immune system.
Another way a holiday can help your well-being is by strengthening your out-of-office relationships. Since work takes up most of our week, making time for our family, friends, and partners can be a challenge. Having a break gives you time to organise to reconnect with loved ones. Summer BBQs, Christmas parties, beach days, and other adventures are a great way to build lasting memories with the people you care about. These connections are important for your happiness, emotional support, and overall well-being.
You are the most important person in your life. And you have to treat yourself as such!
Rediscovering Your Passion
Sometimes, the day-to-day routine of work life can make you feel disconnected from your passion.
Having some time off from work can give you the mental space to reflect. Reflect on your career, your business, and your life. When you reflect, it allows you to reconnect with the things that matter to you. They’ll remind you of your passion. When you remember your passion, you’ll remember WHY you do what you do. What it is that lights you up. The joys of the job that make doing what you do worth it.
And when you return to work, your rediscovered passion will translate into motivation and drive!
Increased Creativity & Innovation
One of the best things about having a break is having the freedom to let your mind wander. You don’t have the stress of time-bound decision-making that happens in the day-to-day of your work. So, you can let your mind wander and focus on things outside of work. When you do this you’ll be amazing with what you can come up with.
Taking a break and getting out of the office, whether for a long holiday or just a weekend, can spark creativity and lead to breakthrough ideas. When you’re relaxed, your mind can come up with unusual and creative solutions to challenges that you’ve been having. The ideas you can come up with when you’re not forcing yourself to can also come in handy down the road. Maybe it’s a new marketing campaign idea, a unique product or service, or a new way to do something.
Strategic Decision Making
Taking time away from the office also means allowing yourself to take a step back from the business. You can see the forest for the trees and do some work ON your business rather than IN it.
Worrying about your everyday work tasks means your brain is processing a lot of information, making it challenging to see the bigger picture. Taking a step back from the day-to-day workings of your business or job can give you the freedom to think BIG. And once you’ve thought big, you have the mental clarity to prioritise, strategise, and set your sights on the future.
While you’re having a break from work, you’ll find yourself looking towards the future and setting out a strategy for the year. Rather than spending all your time and brain power worrying about your everyday work tasks, you can take a step back to refocus on the bigger picture. Take some time to think BIG!
Once you’ve had a couple of days off, it’s time to think BIG! It’s the perfect time to do this as you can look back at your year with a fresh mind and look forward to the year ahead with optimism. Because you’ve got the mental clarity to do so, you can prioritise, strategise, and set your sights on the future!
Improved Productivity Through the Year
Holidays are also great ways to improve your productivity! No matter what length of break you have, from long holidays over the New Year period to long weekends throughout the year.
Time off at the end of the year is great for planning and strategising. It can help you to set the small steps that you need to take to achieve your big goal. How can you get more clients, make more money, help more people, or complete more projects? What are the small steps that you need to take to achieve that? Putting a plan into place can help you focus on the goal and keep you on a productive path.
Time off throughout the year, even during busy times, is also important for productivity. It may seem counterintuitive to take time off to make yourself more productive. However, if you spend the year pushing yourself at work without taking a break, you’ll get burnt out. And burnout does not lead to being more productive.
Instead, it leads to – tasks taking longer, more mistakes being made, and less creativity overall. Time off allows you to clear your mind so you can return to work refreshed, which makes you more efficient.
It doesn’t matter what your break looks like – an overseas holiday, a long weekend at home, or out exploring nature – it’s essential for you to stay productive. Try scheduling some time off throughout the year and see how it goes.
So, now you can breathe out and relax. Remember that a holiday is more than just time away from work; it’s an investment in your productivity, business strategy, creativity, mental health, and innovation. Giving yourself permission to recharge will pay off both personally and professionally.
So get out of the office and enjoy!
