As a business owner, die-hard numbers girl, and a productivity junkie, I obsessively track my time at work. After all, it pays to know how many hours go to marketing, client work, invoicing, training, etc. And analyzing those hours is invaluable in assessing the value of each client and in pricing my services.
But, when I looked into my numbers a few weeks back, I noticed something shocking: Even though I was well into May, the number of hours I hadn’t worked amounted to just two (work) days off this year.
Two days off in nearly five months. During that time, I’ve seen national holidays, day care holidays, contractors milling around my home, a bad cold (that got passed around the whole gang), a mini vacation for my family, and more. But I’ve compensated by sacrificing my personal time on nights and weekends.
And most of those times I was working . . . I didn’t have to. There was no looming deadline or immediate need for me to tackle whatever project I was doing toward building and sustaining my business.
I just didn’t bother to take time off!
So I recently forced myself to close up shop on a Thursday. It was amazing! With beautiful weather, my son and I threw coins in our town’s fountain, laughed over ice cream at a streetside table, and strolled the town before hitting the library together.
But what about you?
When was the last time you took a day off for real? When you left work behind for an entire day to enjoy your family or relax on your own?
If the idea sounds laughable — or if playing hooky has you racked with guilt — consider this . . . [Read more…]
