This Easter, I decided to take a proper break. No blogging, no emails, phone calls or client work. I set the time aside purely to spend with my family.
We all know breaks are good for you. You are revitalised and rested for the next phase of activity and you can be your most creative whilst on holiday.
But what good is a vacation if you cannot immediately channel all that energy and creativity into realising some tangible things in your business?
Like most people, I didn't feel energised or ready to get back into work mode after my break. It was a struggle on the first day back. I spent the morning staring at my computer, unable to get in the mood.
As a business owner, it is particularly difficult as there is nobody to report to. There is no boss waiting. A one-week vacation can quickly morph into a period of lack of motivation and self sabotage if you are unable to reign in all the goodness of self-employment and get back to work when you need to.
These are the three things that finally got me off the sofa.
1.Schedule meetings right after break
This will be a baptism of fire but I believe this is a great way of picking up momentum and not wasting the downtime. These meeting should be planned before the break to avoid procrastination. Everybody else will be taking it easy immediately after a public holiday so this is your time to make an impact and connect with some key people.
I had scheduled some rather important meetings just after Easter and I really needed to prepare for them. These meetings could prove quite pivotal for my business so you can imagine that the fear of potentially wasting the opportunity finally got me going. A busy pre-scheduled calendar is the best way to get back in action after a break.
2. Give yourself no reason or excuse not to work
Because I had spent some quality time off work, I hard no reason for procrastinating. I was also starting to feel guilty about neglecting the business albeit for only a week. When every thing starts and ends with you, a week off work can seem like a long time. So after going back and forth and finding no good excuse for not doing any work, eventually logic won over emotion and I was tapping away on the keyboard.
3.Get active
The gastronomic indulgence of any holiday season is one of the reasons for the low energy and general sluggishness on return back to work. In my case I really indulge when on vacation - no health food or snacks.
To get back in shape, I got active. It wasn't easy but I'd signed up for a marathon so I had to train. I'm hoping to raise money for some good charities so I can't let them down. I managed to go out for a run, which surprisingly left me feeling tired but alive and ready to take on the world.
So I recommend getting back into your routine as quickly as possible after a break. The quicker you get back to work, working at full steam, the quicker you'll be due for another break.