Taking Time Off without the Guilt

I took today and tomorrow off, and taking days off is great and important except…

…if you feel guilty and still check in on email to make sure nothing “blew up.”

I DEFINITELY used to do this. Who else does?

First off, let’s call a spade a spade, and just say, when you take time off and then worry and low-key check-in the whole time, this isn’t time off. And you’ll likely come back to the office not getting many of the benefits that time away gives us.

So, what do we do? Here are my go-to’s:

• Do your due diligence to make sure your work is covered.

• Fortunately and unfortunately, you’re not so important and integral to your organization that you can’t leave for at least 2 weeks. (Real Talk)

• When you step away from your team, it gives other people a chance to shine or flop. We can learn a lot from this, and where we need to teach/educate more and/or who is ready to step up.

• Believe in the work you’ve already put in to support your team. They will be okay.

• Believe that your team is resourceful and creative.

• Someone will call you or track you down if there’s a massive, absolutely have to have you emergency.

Ultimately, feeling guilty doesn’t really do anything, but diminish YOUR time and energy. And when you don’t have real time off, you’re not doing anyone a favor, including yourself.

So, believe it will be okay, and sign off.

If you have trouble signing off, staying off AND feeling guilty while you’re away, send me a message on the “Contact” page to set up a free call with me to get you out of guilt and into rest.