It’s that time of year again, where we desperately hope for a sunny summer here in the UK before giving up halfway through August and booking a last-minute trip to sunnier climates. But for business owners, packing up and leaving the country can fill you with a sense of anxiety. What will happen whilst you’re away? Can you really leave your company to fend for itself? If you are worrying about leaving the working world behind, here are some tips and tricks to help balance business and pleasure whilst on holiday:
DELEGATE
Before you go away, be sure you have an employee, friend, family member or even Virtual Assistant you can entrust the day-to-day workings of the business to. Perhaps spend a few hours going over the ins and outs of your work and prepare them for any issues or problems which may arise. Prepare any communication with clients beforehand and have your temporary cover send them out as and when they are required. Perhaps even practice some scenarios to see how they will react if things don’t go to plan. You may feel as though you are the only person who can complete certain tasks but this could offer a fantastic learning opportunity for you and your staff; it offers a chance for staff to prove themselves and for you to trust them with more responsibility on a regular basis.
REMOTE ACCESS
Undoubtedly, there are always some duties which you and you alone must take care of. If any important meetings or tasks take place during your holiday, it is possible for you to attend without having to cut the vacation short. Using Skype, FaceTime or any other communication software, create a contact group in advance and schedule a meeting. All contacts can log in at the arranged time, don’t forget to take time zones into account, and you can attend from the comfort of your hotel room, villa or even by the beach! You can store any relevant documents in a cloud service (such as Dropbox – https://www.dropbox.com/) and access them from any location as and when you require. While you’re at it, you could also store your treasured holiday photos in your cloud account and store the memories forever.
ESTABLISH SET ‘WORK TIME’
Don’t forget, your holiday is about relaxation and getting away from your normal life. However, if you absolutely cannot part with your work for an entire holiday, you should establish boundaries with your fellow vacationers before you go. Decide upon a time, perhaps before or after dinner, where you will be ‘at work’. Ensure that your friends or family are comfortable and understand this arrangement so you will not be distracted and they will not be annoyed that you are disrupting vacation plans. Stick to these boundaries and ensure that your worktime doesn’t seep into any more of the holiday. Remember, you go on holiday to relax so if you spend the entire time working it defeats the purpose of a vacation! A well-rested person is a happy person and you will feel the benefit of a restful holiday when you return to work.
We know that it’s hard for some people to switch off and separate their personal life from their work life, but by putting some of these tips into practice even the most dedicated worker can enjoy a holiday without feeling guilty! Alternatively, if you’re a sensible business owner you would have already made set plans for your Virtual Assistant to look after the day-to-day running of your business – after all they are professionals too!