The Importance of Taking Time for Yourself as a Business Owner
As a business owner, your schedule is packed full of meetings, tasks, sales calls, planning, and more. Chances are, you don’t work a 9-5 day, and there are aspects of running your business that come home from the office or find their way into your personal time. With all the things you make time for, do you prioritize taking time for yourself?
If the answer is “no,” I get it. Entrepreneurs by definition are ambitious. That drive and tenacity are what keep us going through all the ups and downs, but this can also be what keeps us from taking time off – and in so many ways, that time off is essential for our personal and professional success.
Many business owners that my team and I talk with are overwhelmed. They have invested so much of themselves into growing their business, but often at the expense of their boundaries and self-care. (This is part of what we help our clients overcome!)
This is something we can handle for a little while, but eventually, the consequences of this overwhelm affect both our businesses and our personal lives – our families, our health, and our ability to really live our lives to the fullest.
If this is sounding familiar, please know you’re not alone. I want something better for you, though!
Shifting Your Mindset
Many business owners that we talk with truly want to set stronger boundaries and reclaim their time, but they feel stuck. Everything in their business relies on them, so they feel that taking time off would cause what they’ve worked for to collapse.
Again, I get it. I’ve been there. When I owned my law firm, there was a time I worked 85+ hours a week – and it didn’t occur to me for a long time that life could be any different. I had plenty of sleepless nights, I sacrificed family holidays and vacations, and I rarely had time to do the things I really enjoy.
For a period of time, I lost myself to my business. I knew something had to change, but I wasn’t sure how to do it.
Learning how to create a strong, actionable business plan and build the right systems for my business played a huge part in my turnaround (which is why I’m so passionate about both today), but I also learned how to shift my mindset to allow all of this to happen.
I learned to delegate rather than powering through and taking everything back.
I learned how to develop my team members and equip them to take my business even farther than I ever could alone.
I learned how to step out of my comfort zone and use failures as a learning tool and jumping off point rather than stepping back in fear.
This mindset shift wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t always comfortable, but it was beyond worth it.
Building Your Systems and Creating Margin
The mindset shift is essential, but so are the systems that will allow you to delegate to your team and create the margin that will allow you to really take time for yourself!
Building the right systems for your business isn’t always a simple task, but it doesn’t have to be as intimidating as many people think. When you start with a proven framework and bring your team on board, the process is much easier than it otherwise would be.
This is why my team and I do what we do! We create packages that provide you with full systems manuals and walk you and your team through each step of adjusting those manuals to your company. We also help you create a customized action plan for implementation!
Taking the action to build your systems and equip your team will help you be able to step away without the fear and stress so you can unwind and recharge.
Don’t wait until everything is fully built to take a bit of time away, but do be intentional about equipping your team to run your business without you!
Calendar In Time for Yourself!
Once you have taken the steps to shift your mindsets and build your systems, it’s time to hold yourself accountable to taking time for yourself. If you don’t get intentional about planning time away and calendaring it in, things will always pop up to keep you at work.
I recommend setting aside time with your EA on a quarterly basis to schedule out both your personal and professional commitments. This includes important meetings, larger project milestones, any speaking events, and personal time like vacations, family times, and other events you want to attend.
At first, this might be challenging, but as you practice this habit you’ll start to look forward to it! I love to see the balance in my calendar, and I enjoy knowing that I can take time away to relax, enjoy, and recharge so that I’m at my best when I return.
Case in point – I just returned from a week completely off grid. I enjoyed a week in Spain with my mom (who I’m very close to) and had a magical time doing things that I love. My team was able to keep everything running while I was gone, and I was able to enjoy my time rather than stressing about what might be waiting for me when I returned!
If you’re ready to make the shift and prioritize taking time for yourself, it is possible – and we can help. Contact us to learn more!