The holiday season is upon us and with that can come some extra stress for business owners who have been working tirelessly all year. This year (and every year), we encourage you to take advantage of this much-needed holiday break and step away from your business. Even if you’re only able to step away for a few days, take advantage of that time. 

Here are a few things we suggest doing over the holidays to help you reset and rejuvenate yourself for the upcoming year. 

Schedule Time Off, and Stick to It! 

The holiday season is a great time to take some much-needed time off as most companies and businesses will be doing the same. As an entrepreneur, it can be hard to pull yourself away from work, but it’s crucial in helping you reset. Here are a few things you should consider doing this holiday season to give yourself a break from your business:

• Turn on an auto-respond on your email. If someone emails you over the holidays they are likely not expecting a speedy response. Including some details about the time you are taking off in your auto-response sets a precedent for what can be expected.
  
• Post closures on social media. If your business hours will be changing at all over the holidays, be sure to let your customers know via posts on all social media platforms.
  
• Pre-schedule & automate as much as possible. Pre-scheduling social media posts so you don’t have to worry about this day, or automating any aspect of your business allows you to take a step back and be present during your time off. 

Spoil Yourself With Some Self-Care

It’s important to take care of yourself in order to take care of your business. Use some time over the holidays to get in some self-care. For some, this might be taking a nice bubble bath while indulging in a glass of wine or a book. For others, it might be taking a whole day to yourself to pamper yourself or binge-watch your favourite series. Whatever self-care looks like or means to you, be sure to schedule in time to do those things over the break. 

Another thing to consider is how you can take care of your team to ensure they feel supported and come back feeling refreshed and rejuvenated in the New Year. Make sure that everyone on your team is taking some time off, and encourage them to engage in self-care as well. This year especially, it’s essential to check in on your team as many won’t be able to spend the holidays with their families and loved ones. 

Reflect on the Past Year 

While this one may include your business brain a little bit, we encourage you to include aspects of your personal life as well. This past year was tough in many ways for so many of us. Try your best to find the good that happened in 2020! This can be in your business or your personal life, or both. Maybe your business was able to pivot and continue on despite some challenges, or perhaps you were able to have your staff continue with day-to-day operations allowing you to spend more time with your family.

Write a list of what you learned this year. Start by focusing on the positives and what some of your successes were (try to find at least 3). No matter how big or small the good things were, it’s important to reflect on them and not dwell on all of the challenges that 2020 brought.

We know that the holidays may look a little different for a lot of us this year, but like most other things we’ve overcome this past year, we can do it! If you need some extra motivation to get you prepped and ready for the New Year, check out our blog: 5 Ways To Stay Motivated In Your Business This Year.