Taking Time to Relax When You're a Business Owner

Being self employed is great, but it does have it's downsides. One of the biggest is that there doesn't seem to ever be a 'good' time to take time out from your business. Yet taking time out is exactly what business owners need and today we'll explain why and how you can do this.

Why Taking Time Out is Essential for Business Owners

This will come as no surprise, but those who are self employed often work huge hours and for little financial reward, especially in the early years of their business. This causes huge amounts of stress and that's no fun for anyone. Taking the time to pull back and remove yourself from work does provide multiple benefits, including:

• improved mental health and well-being - being stressed is bad for your physical and mental healthy. Taking time to relax and unwind helps your body to heal and rest.
• reconnecting with friends and family - relationships often become strained when running your own business, making it vital you take time out to hang out with friends and family. 
• spending time doing what you like to do - remember what it was like to be able to pursue your hobbies and interests? Have some fun and take a break from work. 
• catching up on sleep - without sleep, our bodies do not function at optimal levels. Sleep can help make you feel so much better. 
• increasing productivity - by taking time to relax, you rejuvenate your mind and body, which increases your productivity levels when you go back to work. 
• improved decision making - when you are able to step back and take a break, you will often see things clearer and decision making is easier.

How to Take a Break from Your Business

It's time to kick those excuses to the wall and book some time off from your business by:

• making a list of the things you love to do when not at work
• book time off in your calendar
• stop feeling guilty for taking a break
• outsource the jobs you don't like doing to someone else
• set work hour and holiday boundaries
• look to automate some tasks
• disable your website shopping cart to stop purchases while you are on holiday
• let your followers know you won't be posting on social media for a while
• tell your customers when you will be closed and set up automated replies detailing this

But should you take your website offline for the holidays? No! Head over to read Website World's article on Preparing Your Website for the Holidays to learn what you can do instead, and enjoy your time off!