24 Jul 2022

Summer Challenge: Put Your Phone Down

Our last blog talked about the importance of taking time away from your business, but it glossed over something we all struggle with on vacations – putting your phone down. It’s not about playing a round of Wordle or taking photos of your kids at the beach, but when you pick up your phone to do those things, checking your work emails or texts are just a quick click away. You know you do it – our fingers are almost programmed to open those other apps, even when we don’t really want to.

So that brings us to the title of this blog. We have a quest for you. If you can’t avoid opening your work emails or checking those texts when you pick up your phone, then it’s time to turn off the notifications on those apps, move them off your home screen or keep your phone in your bag. It’s time to truly “put your phone down.” If there is a true emergency with the business, certainly you can have your second in command call you, right?

We know what you’re thinking. “If I check those emails once in the morning, I’ll feel better the rest of the day.” But will you? Or is that opening a can of worms? If your brain is still back at your business, are you truly enjoying that time off? Are you giving your whole self to your family or are you splitting it with your business? Being able to reset and recharge means really leaving work behind you. When you founded your business, we’re sure you didn’t also decide to give up every vacation for the rest of your working life. This is really about mindset.

Also, if you have systems in place and staff members to run the business in your absence, you need to be able to trust that those managers, employees and systems are in place to run things without you. They also need to know you’re really trusting them to run the company while you’re out. If you’re still just a quick text away or replying to emails once or twice a day, they can still turn to you for everyday tasks. It’s like being trusted to watch the house while you’re parents are out, but knowing there are still nanny-cams in every room. You aren’t really gone if you’re not really gone. Besides, building this trust will benefit you long term too. If they can run things for a week without you, what else can they do? Could this be your next step in being able to break the chains that keep you working in your company every day?

We know there’s a lot to think about in this post and we know you can just pick up and leave until the groundwork has been laid. That said, if you spend your time off not really being off, you’re risking business owner burnout and, worse, you’re missing out on time with your loved ones. If there’s anything none of us can afford to lose, it’s time.

If you need help building those systems and training your staff to run the business – or you need help reshaping your mindset – your local Growth Coach can help: https://www.thegrowthcoach.com/find-a-coach.

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