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Festive Downtime and the Importance of Taking Time Out From Your Business
Is it important to take time out from your business? Without a doubt! And what better time to do that than Christmas? The holiday season is a fantastic time of the year to take a little break, festive downtime is a great opportunity to relax, unwind and spend time with your family.
Having time away from your business gives you the chance to disengage. Not only does it prevent burn out but it improves your physical and mental health. And spending time with the ones you love, especially during the most magical holidays of the year, will help your overall health.
So when the festive season is over, you will come back into the New Year full of energy, bursting with ideas and ready to take on the challenges of the year ahead.
But before you sit back and relax, make sure you are getting in the New Year well prepared, and you have everything covered. And the best way to protect your business in the New Year is by making sure your legalities are in place.
Keep reading to find out how to make the most of festive downtime and how to protect your business in the New Year.
How to make the most of festive downtime?
Many business owners fear that if they stop working, their business will stop too, especially during the holidays when for some businesses, Christmas is the most important time of the year. While it is necessary to assess the risk of shutting down over the holidays, festive downtime plays a significant role in your health and, with that, the health of your business. Work-life balance is possible even for business owners. So here are some tips that will help you make the most of your downtime during the holidays:
Eat healthy
Looking after yourself is like looking after your business. Sometimes it is easier said than done, but eating healthier food will improve your mood, boost your brain and give you more energy. So take this time off to cook healthy but tasty meals with the family or book a table in the new restaurant you always wanted to go to but never got the chance to.
Get enough sleep
Lack of sleep affects the brain and body, and it can lead to making bad business decisions. So a big part of the festive downtime is getting enough sleep and recharging your batteries.
Exercise
And this doesn’t necessarily mean you have to go on a 5km run or skip a rope. Taking long walks, doing yoga, or meditating will also benefit your body and mind.
Replace paperwork
If you are still one of the few that use paper in today’s age of technology, it is time to consider ditching it. It will save you precious time that you can use on something more important, like downtime, for instance. Imagine having all your receipts, payroll information and tax-related paperwork all in one place. Look into tools and software that will keep your books on the right track.
Stay organised
Before you take that well deserved time off for the holidays, make sure you have everything under control. You don’t want to walk into your office the first day of the New Year, asking yourself, “What is happening in the world today?” Staying in control means keeping up with the latest rules and regulations and looking at the competition and potential new clients, just to name a few! If you want to find out more about things you should do as a small business in December, read our blog here.
Outsourcing
What better way to get the job done while you are taking a festive downtown than to outsource some of your work. Your accountant, for instance, may be able to help with invoicing and credit control, so make the most of your downtime and outsource whatever task you don’t have to do yourself.
We talked about when is the right time to delegate and outsource tasks in one of our previous blogs, so to better understand outsourcing, make sure you have a read.
Prepare well ahead
If you have employees, then the ideal thing to do would be to train one team member who will take most of the responsibility while you are away. If you don’t have staff, then organisation is key. Inform your clients and customers well ahead of time that you are taking a festive downtime, and you will get in touch when you get back in the office. Set up an automatic response on your email letting everyone know you are taking a break during the holidays.
But if it is an emergency, assure your clients that you will be able to get in touch with them or let them know who to contact in your absence (ideally someone you have trained for these situations and know what issues the clients may have).
Finally, the most important thing is to take this time off and enjoy. Be present and share the most wonderful time of the year with your family and friends. After what we have seen with the pandemic and all the lockdowns, you never know when your last gathering might be.
