Recently, as you may know, I was in Perth. I was testing my new white paper out to see if it resonated with the women around the table, and we were talking about my three-week vacation that is coming up. I was asked if I would be working and I told the table that I was currently negotiating with my husband as to how many hours I could work, being in small business, it doesn’t stop. Do you know what I love about the women I work alongside? If I say something that doesn’t make sense, they challenge me, and one of the women at the table asked me why I couldn’t switch off totally, this is a woman who has her own multi-million dollar business, has a number of staff, and as she told me, she thought she couldn’t have a holiday either, until really recently which she just needed to switch off.
Truth bomb: no one is going to miss me, and I can switch off.
The story I was telling myself is that I couldn’t take a break, the wheels needed to keep turning, but it was bollocks! I have two competent women who work with me and can hold down the fort, and I went into my own biz to design the life I want, why can’t I take some time off? What’s the point if you can’t do this kind of stuff!
Here’s what’s going to happen if I don’t do this:
I won’t be allowing myself a proper break, which I will then feel resentful about, even though I would have done it to myself.
I wouldn’t be walking the talk of women taking care of themselves and switching off, and finally but really should be first, my family are going to be very grumpy with me!!!
So, here’s my plan:
- Work out what needs to continue
- Put the out of office on
- Talk to the team about what they need
- Have a re-entry plan
Here it is in a little more thought and detail:
- Work out what needs to continue and ask for help, for instance, the weekly treat I send out to my subscribers, we mapped out who could contribute from a guest perspective, and this also means further amplification of other voices, which I love! It also means the lovely Jess will be taking over and giving us a look at life at Team McQueen.
- I would love to write a creative out of office that sends the message that I am on holidays without guilt and having a bluddy ace time! Watch this space…
- Talk to the team about how and if they can contact me. Shiz can go wrong, right? I know that either Serena or Jess can manage anything that gets thrown at them, I also know that they have each other’s backs, so we will dial up their meetings together (they live in different states) to ensure they feel fully supported.
- Have a re-entry plan. We all know how much it sucks when you come back from holidays, and there are a ton of things that need to be sorted through. Mentally preparing for this will be necessary and being gentle on myself as I do this will be essential.
So, here’s to switching off, with permission from myself, asking and receiving help from others and having some awesome guest contributors along the way. What about you? Do you get to switch off? How do you manage it?
I’m Emma, and I’m a business and executive coach who believes wholeheartedly in the potential of women. My coaching philosophy is simple- taking action leads to results- and I love working with women in business and in corporate roles to take their passion and drive and transform their professional and personal lives.
Be enthusiastic, optimistic and energetic, every day.
Em x