At the time of this recording it is Thanksgiving weekend and I’m freaking tired. I’m always tired at this point in the year and this year is no different. It’s as if my body just begins to resist my intentions to push hard and work more. Basically, I’m just unable to do it and I find that I just don’t want to push anymore. Even when I was working my 9-5 this was the case. This episode discusses how to build vacation time into your online business. And, how to build downtime into your work life.
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How to Build Vacation Time Into Your Online Business
- Understand your yearly workflow-As a digital entrepreneur I’ve discovered that there are several activities that affect my work flow.
- Personal obligations-family/friends/myself: these obligations include-birthdays, family/friend events, etc.
- Content creation-As a digital entrepreneur I send a majority of my time creating content.
- Blog posts
- Podcasts
- Getting interviewed for podcasts
- Social Media
- Product creation
- Writing Books
- Freelance Writing
- Conference attendance
- Event Planning
- Time of year-there are different times of year that are busier based on the type of product that I’m selling
Now I’m able to anticipate the slower times of year and build in breaks during those times.
- Batch YOUR WORK
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- This practice has been the hardest habit and activity to build into my business. Batching your projects allows you to get ahead of your workload. Times of year where I’m able to build in time off because I’ve batched my work:
- From mid-December through the end of the first week January
- Mid-May through Mid-June
- Conference season-I’ve pretty much decided on the different conferences that I plan on attending during the upcoming year. I also have to add in lost productivity time for each event. Each conference equals about 3 weeks of lost productivity. As a result, it’s likely moving forward that I will alternate years that I attend conferences.
- Thanksgiving Week
- This practice has been the hardest habit and activity to build into my business. Batching your projects allows you to get ahead of your workload. Times of year where I’m able to build in time off because I’ve batched my work:
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- Four Day work weeks-2019
- When I was first hired for my old job at the university, I was hired for a 4 day work week. That was all the work we had and honestly I LOVED IT!!! Three day weekends rocked! Soooo….why did I work every single day once I started working for myself? I didn’t enjoy it and it’s not sustainable for me.
- I now frontload my week and go ALL IN from Monday-Thursday. I do work sometimes on the weekend…but, it’s never deep thinking work.
- Having a three-day weekend allows me to schedule time in the mountains, spend time with family and friends, go hiking, and time to rest
- Systems that help me focus on my productivity
- These systems keep me clear on what tasks need to be focused on and when.
- I now alternate weeks when I meet with people. Basically,
- Podcast interviews
- Course Office Hours
- Mastermind meetings
- Business meetings
- Are all scheduled during the same week.
I do NOT meet for coffee. Nope, I don’t. Why? It’s never just one hour or 30 minutes-those coffee meetups last FOREVER LOL!
Just Say “No!”
I now say “no” all the time LOL! And, I’m unapologetic about it. You should say “NO” too. Be clear about what you need to focus on to move your personal and professional goals forward.
- Productivity blocks-Recently, I spent a lot of time looking at all of the business related activities I engaged in to run my business. Then, I figured out how often I needed to engage in those activities:
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- Daily
- Weekly
- Monthly
- Every other month-you get the picture.
- I’m no longer running around in circles.
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Make Downtime a priority-I didn’t quit my job so that i would work all the time. I quit my job so that I could have better work life flexibility
- Prioritize your downtime as an entrepreneur
- By doing this I’m very clear about what I will or won’t be willing to do and I avoid doing what doesn’t serve me well
Resource Mentioned
“Make Money with Ebooks” course-Save $75 with the following code: holiday 18 (Black Friday-Cyber Monday)
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I’m still struggling with this – great post! Maybe my goal for 2019 will be four day work weeks. 🙂
Let me know how it goes! Even when I worked my old 9-5 and the hours increased to a regular work week-I was most productive Monday-Thursday. I’m no longer fighting it any longer LOL!