It's been a busy spring and summer here at Hawley Legal Resources. We've been fortunate to have the help of a summer associate to keep up with the influx of clients, and expanded our representation into the music industry. On a personal note, I also married to my law school sweetheart and took a refreshing honeymoon to Bermuda in June.
I did this right when all the business media was fawning over several major CEOs who "unplug" or eschew electronic and work communications during vacations. In contrast, think of the so-called average entrepreneur or business owner -- are you glued to your Blackberry? Do you check emails in between courses at fancy restaurants? Are you ever really "off the clock?"
As a small business owner myself, I definitely had the feeling that I was "on" all the time. Whether it was the always-welcome all-hours calls from nervous clients before a deal closed or trying to balance HootSuite with the bridal registry and thank you card manager, I was definitely burning the candle at every available end leading up to the wedding.
While away, I was happy every day with my decision to leave all my tech in the States and delegate office management to an assistant. It was worth every missed facebook status, every untweeted tweet, and certainly every phone call from an 888 area code.
When I returned, I'm finding I triage my time a bit better. There are "vitally important" communications and there are things that can wait until after 5 for a more thoughtful response. I'm also reducing the number of times I log in on weekends. It's still nervewracking to feel like I might be missing opportunities for new business, but realistically, I get the messages first-thing Monday morning, when I'm prepared to make the best of the opportunity, rather than when I'm trying to also eat ice cream or carry a beach chair.
What about in your business? Are you too important to the survival of your business to take time off? Are you insecure? Or are you just avoiding having fun because you don't think you've "earned" the time off yet? Remember, if you had a salaried job, you'd have a fixed number of days a year for which you'd be paid to NOT WORK. Can you unplug?
I did this right when all the business media was fawning over several major CEOs who "unplug" or eschew electronic and work communications during vacations. In contrast, think of the so-called average entrepreneur or business owner -- are you glued to your Blackberry? Do you check emails in between courses at fancy restaurants? Are you ever really "off the clock?"
As a small business owner myself, I definitely had the feeling that I was "on" all the time. Whether it was the always-welcome all-hours calls from nervous clients before a deal closed or trying to balance HootSuite with the bridal registry and thank you card manager, I was definitely burning the candle at every available end leading up to the wedding.
While away, I was happy every day with my decision to leave all my tech in the States and delegate office management to an assistant. It was worth every missed facebook status, every untweeted tweet, and certainly every phone call from an 888 area code.
When I returned, I'm finding I triage my time a bit better. There are "vitally important" communications and there are things that can wait until after 5 for a more thoughtful response. I'm also reducing the number of times I log in on weekends. It's still nervewracking to feel like I might be missing opportunities for new business, but realistically, I get the messages first-thing Monday morning, when I'm prepared to make the best of the opportunity, rather than when I'm trying to also eat ice cream or carry a beach chair.
What about in your business? Are you too important to the survival of your business to take time off? Are you insecure? Or are you just avoiding having fun because you don't think you've "earned" the time off yet? Remember, if you had a salaried job, you'd have a fixed number of days a year for which you'd be paid to NOT WORK. Can you unplug?
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