If you’re an entrepreneur, you’re probably happiest when the world is zooming forward. Every day you’re building and inventing new things. You’re seeing progress, even if it’s small. So when someone mentions vacation, it’s easy to ask “why?” Taking time away from your daily whirlwind might just seem unnecessary.
The thing is, vacation can be a magical inspirational time. By whisking you away from your daily schedule, it affords you the opportunity to see around corners and explore new ideas. Great vacations aren’t really about checking out of daily life. They’re more about checking in, recharging, and discovering new possibilities—which will ultimately help you build new things and become an even better entrepreneur. Here’s why you finally need to stop putting it off and take a vacation this summer.
Find inspiration
New inspiration can come from anywhere. Spending a week on a beach or traveling in an exotic locale can certainly get your creative juices flowing. If you’re a restaurateur, you might get new ideas for your menu from one of the restaurants you visit. If you’re an online business owner, perhaps you’ll stumble on a great word for a new product name or an interesting color combination that would be perfect for a logo. You might also get some other sort of big-picture inspiration that helps you take your business in a totally new direction.
A staycation can be just as inspiring. Simply stepping away from your daily routine can help you refocus your priorities and get you excited about possible new directions. You might realize that you no longer want to compete in some markets or pursue working with certain clients. The point is that every vacation gives you fresh moments that bring new perspectives. As a result, new ideas come from the most unexpected places.
Keep yourself healthy
Work as an entrepreneur can certainly have its stressful moments. Over the short- and long-term, those workplace stressors will impact your health. While a breakdown doesn’t happen overnight, your body will start giving you subtle signs that something needs to change. Slight backaches, tight shoulders, rashes, and headaches can be your body telling you it needs a break. Like any machine, it needs to be powered down and rebooted occasionally to keep it running smoothly.
When you take time off from work to refresh yourself, you’ll be getting those extra hours of sleep that you’ve been missing. Plus, you’ll have the opportunity to eat better, get outdoors, and simply reconnect with what makes you happiest. When you do, you’ll find that a lot of those minor bodily complaints melt away and you just feel a whole lot better. Small adjustments can contribute to big improvements.
Increase your productivity
It’s commonly known that working long hours negatively impacts productivity. That rule applies to more than just working 15-hour days. When those long days extend over long periods of time, their impact adds up slowly over time, taking a toll on the quality of your work.
Conversely, if you take small breaks throughout your day, you improve your concentration. Long breaks away from work replenish job performance. Most people come back from vacation with a renewed perspective on life, which makes them more motivated to achieve their goals. It doesn’t matter if it’s a month away in August or a weekend road trip, you’ll be amazed at how your productivity skyrockets when you get back.
Give your brain some downtime
Most of us don’t hesitate to take a breather after an hour of tennis or Zumba, yet we often treat the brain like something that exists outside of the body. When it comes to mental fatigue, we can spend hours problem solving and thinking creatively but forget that our brains need time to rest too. When your mental resources get depleted, it’s challenging to stay on-task, be attentive, and make good choices.
A vacation is of paramount importance to get your mind’s creative juices flowing. By turning away from business problems, you can clarify your thinking, replenish your motivation, and ultimately prepare yourself to tackle work issues with more positivity, energy, and renewed focus. Vacation is a brain reboot that is essential to achieve your highest levels of performance. It ensures you’re refreshed and refocused.
Empower your staff
When you take a vacation, it means your team must step up and take on more responsibilities. And this really isn’t a bad thing. While businesses depend on their leaders to challenge, empower, and motivate employees, sometimes it’s helpful for leaders to step out of the way so that employees can thrive. If you’re always around, your employees never really get the chance to stand up and learn to be leaders themselves.
Taking a break is an excellent way to engender trust in your employees. It also enables you to see how your business does when you’re out of the picture. Does your team have the chops to keep it going in your absence? Entrepreneurs often have to wear many different hats. In order for the business to expand, it’s essential to start delegating responsibilities. When you come back from vacation and see how much gets accomplished, you can gain the confidence to step away from some tasks and refocus on the important jobs of innovating and building profitability.
So go on vacation, you deserve it
A vacation doesn’t have to be a lengthy excursion to another country, a 10-day cruise, or a month on a beach. There are so many possibilities to enjoy yourself—a staycation, a road trip, social volunteering abroad, and travel close to home. Let your creativity go wild. Even a short break like an extended weekend can be all you need to reap these benefits.
And don’t worry. You don’t have to completely cut yourself off from your business. Just try to put limits on your communication, like checking email at the end of every day and avoiding phone calls unless they’re emergencies. Otherwise, what’s the point of being on vacation, right? So go take that well deserved break and return with newfound positivity, energy, and focus to change the world!
