Do you need a well-earned holiday?

Microsoft Small Business Center reminds owners of small and medium-sized businesses to take a holiday to recharge our batteries, but to be sure to plan for our absence in advance:

...according to a spokesperson for Intuit, it is vital that the company is in good shape beforehand – and, crucially, is left under the control of a safe pair of hands.

They told Bytestart it can be difficult for SME bosses to take a holiday during the busy summer months, but autumn can be ideal as the weather is generally good and the markets often lull prior to the Christmas rush.

But before going away, business leaders should chase any late payments, process outstanding invoices and review their annual business plan, the spokesperson said.

Sensible advice!

However, it can be very hard to follow if you are the only person in your business/organisation, or those you employ are not equipped to take over from you if you go.

The article points out that there are on-line tools you can use to access work documents and data if you are away from the office. The article, being on a Microsoft website, mentions the Microsoft tools but there are also equivalents from other vendors, including Google Apps and Google also provide a very good free version called Google Docs.

As much as I am loathe to encourage people to bring their work with them on holiday, if it is the only way you can get away from the office, then it might be the only solution. A change of scenery can be (almost) as good as a rest, as they say (the "almost" added by me). If you do this, try to limit your work hours and stick to it more strictly than you normally do.

For some people taking a long holiday is not an option. If this is you, I would strongly encourage you to always make sure you take at least one day off each week (preferably two) to focus solely on family and fun, and ban all mention of work-related issues.

I have found taking at least one day off in the week—preferably two (usually the weekend as most friends and family are off too)—vastly improves my own work productivity and helps me cope with the lack of vacation time. I am able to do much more during the weekday work hours than if I worked extra time over the weekend and I experience much less burnout (that feeling that you just can't do any more work) now than when I worked over the weekends. The human mind and body just does not seem designed for a full 7 days of work with no rest days. You might feel the occasional work weekend is okay, but too often what you allow once turns into a regular habit.

There are a lot of discussions about what is the optimum work-to-rest ratio. I have found the 5 day-a-week 9-to-5 works well for me (when I stick to it!) and keeps me in sync with the people around me I value spending time with. Others may differ on this but I don't think it will be by that much. If you have young children obviously you need more flexibility and may need more time off work. Just try a few different combinations and observe how your productivity / well-being increases and decreases as a result.

Don't forget to consider the quality of your relationships with family and friends and your social life when calculating your optimum work-life balance as all these factors also contribute to your own health and sense of well-being.

When you find the right balance, stick to it as though your life depended on it — it probably does!