Leave the Laptop at Home! Trust Your Systems This Summer

I have quite a few clients either on holiday, about to go on holiday, or just back from holiday at the moment – likewise, I myself returned from a very welcomed week away just last week.

And there’s something that the clients I’m referring to above and myself very much have in common with each other – we were able to switch off completely while we were away.

The very point of a holiday is to change the scenery, get away from the ‘everyday’ and do something completely different in order to get some well-earned rest and relaxation – and also importantly to charge the batteries and gear yourself up for your return, ready to get your head down and work hard into the end of the year.

But we’ve all been there – myself included – the temptation to check your emails ‘just once’ from your smartphone, packing your laptop ‘just in case’ you’re needed back home, keeping those WhatsApp notifications turned on.

I’ve spoken about the importance of systems and of effective delegation many times in these updates, and they are never more put to the test than when the business owner is away from the business.

But the truth is that this is the perfect time to put your systems into practice, to let go and to trust in the process. Will your business stop operating because you go to Spain for a week?

So the point of this update is three-fold.

Firstly – Systems run your business. They are the lifeblood.

Secondly – your Team operate your systems. They are responsible for the daily operations.

The day-to-day running of your end-to-end business should happen whether you’re directly involved or not.

Of course there are tasks that only you can do – but you should be able to leave these behind for at least a week, or be organised enough to complete these before you leave, or ensure that you’re able to do the same when you’re back home.

If you have tasks that a member of your team could also do – then they should be doing them.

Thirdly – make life as easy as you can to be able to properly switch off and spend that all-important time being present with your family. Leave the laptop at home. Switch those notifications off. And only use your phone for photos!

So can you relax and be away from your business for a week/month/three months and it still operates to consistently generate demand, fulfil your promise to customers and generate profit and cash?

If you’re not quite there yet, and would like to look at strategies to get there, take action now.