It Starts with One Day Off a Week

by Joan Friedlander

You've heard it, you know it, but are you doing it? Are you really doing it?

If you're not taking at least one full day a week and completely disconnecting from business or work you are working too much and you don't have to. As a matter of fact, by making the choice to work in some way every day you are probably reinforcing one or more of the following misconceptions and illusions about you, work and life.

-- Responsiveness means whatever it takes.
-- You're indispensable
-- Clients first, always
-- You are not worthy if you aren't always productive
-- You've got nothing else to do anyway
-- You've got too much to do and you can't get everything done in the other 6 days
-- You'll take time off later
-- Just this weekend
-- When you catch up
-- You'll just check email
-- Hey, it's money

It's a fact, many entrepreneurs and independent professionals - and folks with jobs, too - rarely take even one full day off a week. Turning on that dang computer or working on a project actually feels good, especially on weekends because there are no distractions. I get it. I've been pulled that way too. But I also know that if I always keep myself a little hooked into my business I'm never fully available to myself or my family. And so it's a rare weekend when you'll find me working.

As soon as you do anything connected to work, especially on your supposed day off, you ignite the "work-mode energy." So I say to you one day off a week means do absolutely nothing related to work or business and see what happens.

I always ask new clients if they are taking at least one full day off a week, doing nothing related to their business. If they say no, it's their first assignment. Since I work with solo-entrepreneurs who can be especially prone to the 7-days a week phenomenon, I know they're serious about making changes to the way to run their business if they accept the assignment. Here's what happened to two of them.

Forget One Day, I Want Two

Client 1, whom I'll call Denise, accepted the assignment. She was a bit fearful that she'd not get everything done in the remaining 6 days, but the opposite happened. As a matter of fact, as soon as she gave herself that one day off she realized how much she loved and needed the down time to recharge her batteries and immediately wanted a second day.

Within just a couple of weeks she started taking two off and figured out just what kinds of things she wanted to do on each of those days, and which were forbidden. She also realized - and this is really the key - that to have these 2 days she needed to figure out how to get the projects and tasks done during her business hours that she'd been saving for the weekend. It took her a little time to sort that out, but not much.

Bonus results: more time spent on effective marketing activities, increase in business. In addition, she's preparing to hire a bookkeeper and perhaps one other person to get some of her administrative tasks things done so she has more time for business during business hours and can continue to have her two days off a week.

Just Walk on By

Client 2, whom I'll call Sylvia, knew about the "rule" but her office is in her home and though there was a time when she used to follow it, it had been a while. So, even on her day off, she'd slip into her office and check email. She was already aware of impact of doing this so when I asked her to take Sunday off completely she accepted the assignment immediately. In addition, she told her husband of the plan and so they made some plans about what they'd do together instead.

Sylvia has to do a little self-talk at times, reminding herself that the office is off limits and it's working for her. She says it helps her create boundaries, to accept that she really can't get everything done "now" and she says she now knows it will be there when she returns. The pressure of that fact doesn't seem to weigh on her any more.

I think that the mythology that keeps the "I'll just check email" habit in place is the idea that someday when you get it all together, then you will take 1 or 2 days off. I find that the opposite is true. By taking this step you force yourself to see what may be underneath the drive to do otherwise, and to make the necessary changes to the way you spend your time the other 5 or 6 days.

 

by Joan Friedlander, © 2006. All rights reserved.