Taking Time Off From Work Might Be the Best Thing For Your Business

Ahh, summer. Many folks consider it to be the best season of all. Sun, picnics, backyard BBQs (and more) all conspire to pull you away from the office.

(But let’s not forget about the other seasons too. Skiing in winter, “leaf-peeping” in autumn, and Paris in the springtime are all very appealing too.)

Do you allow yourself to enjoy these diversions?

Time away from the office at different points of the year can be hugely rewarding. Yet many business people, and owners especially, find it difficult to get away. We’ve all heard the reasons: The company can’t run without me; my clients expect me to be there; I don’t have anyone who I trust to do the work, etc. But there are too many benefits of taking time off that these reasons seem much less important in the grand scheme of your home-work balance.

Here are three reasons why taking time off from work might be the best thing that you can do for your business:

Perspective
Time away from the office enables you to step back from the day-to-day operations of the company and see why you work in the first place. Being away can help you to gain a different perspective, to see “things” through a new lens, and affords you the time and clarity to assess business situations with an eye towards improvement on many levels.

Productivity
No matter how energetic you may be, at some point you will feel a bit overwhelmed and exhausted. When burnout and stress take over, productivity diminishes and your work product suffers. Even a few days off can help you to regain your focus and drive, and when you return it will be with renewed enthusiasm and energy.

Happiness
You might love your work and feel satisfied at the end of a long, productive day but doing it non-stop is sure to undermine any sense of contentment and happiness that you experience on a day-to-day basis. You’ll feel better, have less stress, more pleasure and a new outlook if you take the time to step back and take a break.

We all need to occasionally recharge if we are to stay on task and be successful. Avoiding time off and working yourself ragged is counterproductive and will cause you to run out of the fuel required to do your best work. Be smart, don’t undermine your work, and plan to take some time for yourself, away from the office.