Taking a Day Off as a Business Owner
“Everything will fall apart without me…”
“I will just log on quickly and get it done…”
I am sure you have said some of these things to yourself or a colleague.
The majority of us know what it is like to work for someone else and having to request approval in order to take time off. If you are like me, the process always came with some sort of hesitation because I was always nervous that it would get declined or the coverage wouldn’t be available and I wouldn’t be able to get the days off approved. If it wasn’t that hesitation, it was going into a system and checking the amount of days I had left for the year and making sure that this specific time off fit within the scope and I would still have enough for the remainder of the year. To me, it never felt easy to take a day off as a corporate employee.
Now, here I am today as a business owner and there is a whole new side of taking a day off! I recently had to take an unexpected day off from my business due to having to put my dog down. It felt so amazing to be able to just take the time I needed without anyone telling me I couldn’t. In the back of my mind I knew there was still work to do but I have set up my days and my project work load in a way that makes it ‘easy’ to take the time I need. It is so nice to not have to jump through the hoops of the approval process - especially on such a last minute basis.
I throughly enjoy the flexibility of being able to take a spontaneous day off to recharge. Since the choice is mine - I can manage my schedule and projects accordingly. If I don’t then that is on me and there is no one else to blame. I can choose to not work one day and then be up late finishing up a project that next day instead.
Knowing that I have the freedom to enjoy leisure time and be with my family without the constraints of a traditional 9-to-5 schedule enhances my overall job satisfaction. It fosters a greater sense of ownership and pride in my business, fueling motivation for more success. I also feel like the ability to step away when needed allows me to come back with a sense of increased productivity. Have you ever felt like you have been working so hard that you don’t even want to work anymore and find yourself just staring off into space rather than focusing? It is not easy realizing you are in the in depths of burn out - so taking the time off before getting there is extremely important. Especially when you are a sole business owner & the productivity relies on you alone!
Some may tend to argue with the idea that it is easy to take time off as business owner because we wear so many hats and there is ‘always something to be done’. I felt this at the very beginning but I have come to realize that with the proper time management and open communication with your clients can really take away from the feeling of guilt or worry when stepping away.
Recently I felt like I needed to apply to a 9-5 job in order to appropriately compensate my lifestyle - but when reading a job description that noted ‘15 days PTO” my stomach turned in knots. The idea of having to request days off felt horrible. Working for yourself comes with a lot of responsibilities of course; but I would take that any day over worrying about someone else approving my personal time off.
