EP 344: Time To Take A Break?
b'Do you ever get the feeling you\\u2019re white-knuckling it through business ownership?\\n\\n\\n\\nLike if you just squeeze the wheel hard enough and focus on what\\u2019s in front of you, you can keep your business from ending up in a serious fender bender (or worse)?\\n\\n\\n\\nI\\u2019ve certainly felt that way. All throughout 2020, I felt like my extreme vigilance was the only thing between my business and an 8-car pileup. And we didn\\u2019t get hit nearly as hard as many businesses.\\n\\n\\n\\nIt\\u2019s a burden, being able to control situations with my hyper-vigilance, but it\\u2019s my lot in life. \\u2014 Tina Fey, Bossypants\\n\\n\\n\\nThat hyper-vigilance can look like needing to have my fingers in every project or having to touch base with every customer. It can look like working 10 hours a day or checking in on the weekends. It can look like not going on vacation for fear of things crumbling without me or always leaving my inbox open throughout the day.\\n\\n\\n\\nThis last year involved every one of those habits at one point or another. Sometimes all at once.\\n\\n\\n\\nTruthfully, I\\u2019m still burnt out from The Year Of White-Knuckling.\\n\\n\\n\\nAnd I need a break. That\\u2019s why, if you\\u2019re reading this at the time it\\u2019s published, I\\u2019m unplugged and on vacation. Note from writing self to vacation self: seriously, let go\\u2014don\\u2019t work this week.\\n\\n\\n\\nOf course, \\u201ctaking a break\\u201d isn\\u2019t just about taking a vacation. It might mean making space for a creative project. Or making time to work on your business. Or taking Fridays off. Or putting your podcast on hiatus. There are so many ways to take a break from things that drain us (even if we love them) but hyper-vigilance is not the way you do it.\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\nLast year notwithstanding, I\\u2019ve led my business to a pretty peaceful equilibrium.\\n\\n\\n\\nWe have strong systems, predictable cycles of work, and a dreamy community of customers who cheer when we take some time off.\\n\\n\\n\\nBut I also catch a glimpse of my former hyper-vigilant self every time I see Sean worry about our clients on the weekends or try to make vacation plans around reliable access to the internet every morning.\\n\\n\\n\\nWhile it would be wonderful to work in a world where taking a break meant just shutting down the computer on a Friday with no preparation and not giving work a second thought for 10 days, taking a break takes some work.\\n\\n\\n\\nThere is work to be done on the business\\u2014I\\u2019ll get to the specifics in just a moment\\u2014and there is also mental work.\\n\\n\\n\\nNow, if you\\u2019re not the anxious, hyper-vigilant business owner that I am, maybe mentally preparing for a break isn\\u2019t so hard. I have no idea what that\\u2019s like. Feel free to skip ahead, though.\\n\\n\\n\\nFor all the worriers out there, probably the most helpful mental shift I\\u2019ve made over the years is learning that:\\n\\n\\n\\nThere is no amount of worry or hyper-vigilance that will stop something bad from happening.\\n\\n\\n\\nI can\\u2019t not take a break because I believe checking email every day averts all potential problems.\\n\\n\\n\\nIsh happens.\\n\\n\\n\\nEven the best systems, happiest customers, and most independent team members won\\u2019t stop the random problem from breaking through.\\n\\n\\n\\nBut just because I can\\u2019t stop a problem from happening doesn\\u2019t mean that a problem will happen. I can take a few days or a few weeks off without there being a problem that...'