This October, I'm doing something I'm very much looking forward to…
I'm switching off and heading to Florida for two weeks to celebrate my husband's 50th birthday!
And yes, there will absolutely be FUN involved.
As a Virtual Assistant and someone who spends a lot of time helping other people stay organised, you'd think preparing to go away would be easy.
But there's something about taking a proper chunk of time off when you run your own business that makes you realise just how many things normally live inside your head.
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Who needs what?
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What's due while I'm away?
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Have I replied to everyone?
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What needs doing before I leave?
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What can wait until I'm back?
Which got me thinking…
Can your business cope when you're not there?
Taking time off when you run a business
One of the lovely things about running your own business is the freedom it can give you.
But one of the difficult things about running your own business is… the freedom it can give you!
There's nobody necessarily telling you to finish at 5pm, take your lunch break or use your annual leave.
And when clients rely on you, taking a week or two off can sometimes feel more complicated than it should.
You can end up working twice as hard before you go away, checking emails while you're there and coming home to an inbox that makes you immediately need another holiday.
That's not really switching off.
And I think we need to get better at allowing ourselves to do exactly that.
Your business shouldn't exist entirely inside your head
Here's a slightly uncomfortable question:
If somebody needed to step into your business tomorrow, would they know what to do?
Would they know where important documents are stored?
Could they find client information?
Would they understand your regular processes?
Would they know which tasks happen every week or every month?
Could they find the passwords, templates, contact details and systems they needed?
Or would you have to explain absolutely everything?
For many small business owners, so much information is stored in their heads.
We know how everything works because we've always been the person doing it.
And that's fine… until we're not available.
A good system gives you freedom
Systems can sound terribly corporate and complicated.
They don't need to be.
A system could simply be a checklist.
It could be a folder containing all the documents you regularly use.
It could be a recurring calendar reminder.
It could be an email template.
It could be a simple written process explaining how you do a regular task.
The aim isn't to turn your small business into a huge corporation with a 300-page operations manual.
It's simply to make things easier.
And ideally, to make sure your business doesn't grind to a halt because you've dared to get on an aeroplane for two weeks!
What can you do before taking time off?
Before a holiday, I like to look ahead rather than simply concentrating on the last working day before I leave.
What's happening while I'm away?
What's happening during the first few days after I return?
Are there deadlines I can deal with beforehand?
Can anything be scheduled?
Do clients know when I'm unavailable?
Is there anything I can delegate?
That last one is particularly important.
Delegating doesn't necessarily mean permanently handing over part of your business.
It's simply recognising that somebody else can keep something moving while you're unavailable.
That's one of the benefits of having reliable support around you – whether that's a member of your team, a fellow business owner or a Virtual Assistant.
Put the out-of-office on – and mean it
This is something many of us struggle with.
We put an out-of-office reply on…
…and then continue checking our emails anyway.
Just in case.
But taking time away from work is important.
We're constantly connected now. Our businesses are in our pockets. Emails, social media, WhatsApp, notifications – it's very easy to be physically sitting beside a pool while mentally still sitting at your desk.
We need to give ourselves permission to be unavailable.
The email can wait.
The social media post can be scheduled.
The world will keep turning.
And if something genuinely can't wait two weeks, that's probably a useful sign that you need a process or some additional support in place for the future.
Outsourcing isn't just about saving time
As a VA based in Margate, I obviously talk a lot about outsourcing.
But one of the biggest benefits isn't simply getting a few hours back in your diary.
It's reducing the number of things that rely entirely on you.
Having someone who understands parts of your business can provide breathing space.
They can know where things are.
They can understand your processes.
They can take responsibility for recurring jobs.
And they can help make sure you aren't the only person carrying everything around in your head.
That's valuable when you're busy.
It's even more valuable when you want to take some proper time off.
We talk so much about productivity in business.
How to get more done. How to be more organised. How to make better use of our time.
But sometimes the best use of our time is doing absolutely nothing business-related.
- Spending time with our families/friends
- Going somewhere new
- Celebrating a big birthday
- Eating far too much food
- Sitting in the sunshine
And in my case, undoubtedly walking approximately 400 miles around Florida theme parks!
Taking a break gives your brain space.
And I think we often come back better for it.
When I return home, it'll be all systems go.
We'll be heading towards November and suddenly Christmas won't feel so far away.
I'll be getting organised at home, preparing for the end of the business year and getting ready for the usual Christmas chaos.
But that's a job for when I get back.
For now, I'm going to practise what I preach.
I'll get organised before I leave, put the right things in place, switch on my out-of-office…
…and go and celebrate my husband's 50th properly - WHOOP WHOOP!
Because our businesses are important.
But they're supposed to fit into our lives – not become our entire lives.
Lumos Virtual Support provides Virtual Assistant and business support from Margate, supporting businesses across Thanet, Kent and beyond.
From regular administrative support and social media to ad hoc projects and those jobs that have been sitting on your list for months, my aim is simple: to lighten the load and give you some valuable time back.
