Vacation and the entrepreneur. It’s a love-hate relationship.  

Who doesn’t love to go on vacation? You’ve spent time planning the perfect escape. The accommodations are amazing. Finally, some time to spend without interruption with family. You get to relax and recharge without any looming deadlines or fires to put out.

Yet, leaving the business to run on semi-autopilot and clients in a state of more than 24-to-48-hour-turnaround bliss for a few days or even a week leaves you with that unsettling feeling in your gut that you’re shirking your responsibilities. It’is kind of uncomfortable not to mention cramming two weeks worth of work into one the week before you leave and another week of working overtime to catch up when you get back.

Vacation for the entrepreneur is necessary to prevent fatigue, burnout, and relationship problems.

If you’re a business owner, I don’t have to tell you the lifestyle, if left unchecked, without breaks now and then, can be bad for your business in the long run. You know this. Lack of vacation time can do things to your body that we don’t normally relate to it like increased risk of heart disease, increased depression, elevated stress levels, and of course, decreased productivity.

There is the idea of working only a few days a weeks to build a thriving, profit generating business, and for a few this may be the reality. However, most of the time, growing and sustaining a successful business require many, long hours, which may include some nights and parts of weekends.

And when we schedule a Saturday, Sunday, or weekend off, we cherish it and it’s good toward building our energy and focus.

Still, a long weekend or week long vacation (read unplugged vacation) needs to be taken every now and then for the health of you, your personal relationships, and your business relationships. It makes you a more effective, more focused, more creative business owner.

Preaching to the choir.

Vacation for the entrepreneur can be easier said than done.

For some entrepreneurs, the vacation dilemma is not too difficult. Clients can be scheduled in a way that leaves a week or two open in a month. But what if you’re an online business manager, a project manager, or service-based professional that is an integral part of your clients’ day-to-day operations? What if it’s your job to put out your clients’ fires or manage their teams? Then taking a vacation can get a bit hairy. Clients depend on you to run their businesses in all or in part and to manage clients and remote teams. How on earth is that going to work out?  

Does that mean that we should be so dedicated to our work that maybe we should forego the Tiki Bar and pool deck and  just not go on vacation?

No, it does not and here’s why. We all have read the articles about entrepreneur burnout and if we’ve ever tried to go the Joan of Arc martyr route, we know it happens.One of the most successful entrepreneurs on the planet plans down time on a regular basis, encouraging other business owner to let go of guilt and “make this relaxation time a priority.”

You get tired of the work you absolutely love, you get a little sluggish, and your brain just isn’t optimizing all that genius that’s stored inside. So, not going isn’t an option.So that means we have to plan to make our vacation as smooth as possible, allowing as much time as possible to unplug. Let’s face it. The last thing you want is to try and find a hotspot while you and your kids are trying to get the self-propelled bicycle ride to do an upside down 360 in the science museum at the beach.

Planning for a successful vacation is not much different for the online entrepreneur than for the brick-and-mortar business owner.

Here are 8 tips to help you truly get away on your next get-away.

1. Let everyone on the team know at least two weeks in advance that you’ll be gone and for how long. This will give them a heightened awareness to be proactive in all things while holding the fort down during your absence.
2. If you normally meet with clients on a week when you’ll be away, let them know the month prior of your plans and schedule their sessions a week before or after you much-needed vacay.
3. If your bills are not on automatic draft, pay all of your monthly bills a week or two before you leave.
4. Know that you’ll need to do two weeks of work the week before you leave and will be putting in extra time when you get back to get caught up again.
5. Let some clients know you’ll be away and who they can connect with if they need help.
6. If there are some tasks that only you can do for a client that are critical and time-sensitive, get them done before you leave.
7. Leave your computer at home.
8. Let the team know you’ll be checking emails periodically and how you can be reached, if you run service-based business, in case of an absolute emergency.

For further reading. 

1. Screenshots: Have a stress-free vacation with these five apps, Jack Wallen. http://www.techrepublic.com/pictures/screenshots-have-a-stress-free-vacation-with-the-help-of-these-five-apps/?ftag=TRE684d531&bhid=25816038618032748494375013138583
2. Road Trip! Health Net Points Out the Benefits of Vacations. https://www.healthnet.com/portal/home/content/iwc/home/articles/health_benefits_of_vacations.action
3. The Big Fat Coaching Lie. Claire Mitchell. http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/clairemitchell/the-big-fat-coaching-lie_b_6139870.html
4. How to avoid burnout as an entrepreneur. https://www.virgin.com/entrepreneur/richard-branson-how-to-avoid-burnout-as-an-entrepreneur