Business owners are never really off the clock, right? Whether it be an emergency phone call at all hours of the night, or an employee call out or some “disaster” at the business several things can interrupt your downtime. Many business owners might ask, what downtime? If you aren’t working on the business you might even feel guilty but leveraging your downtime properly will allow you to be more successful when you are actually working on your business.
Care out Family Time:
Spending dedicated time with the family will do a couple of things, including not allowing you to work on your business during that time. Spending time with your family will allow you to work with less interruption when you are scheduled to be working on the business. And the mental break away will allow a lot of things to become clarified when you go back.
Read to Improve your Expertise:
Even when you are not working on or at your business, you can still be improving your skills that will help in the long run. Whether it is industry specific knowledge you need to brush up on, or general management and leadership reading is both a relaxing activity and ads value to your business.
Brainstorm New Ideas:
When you are buried in work, and problem solving on a day to day basis it can be very difficult to find new and better ways to do things. Using your downtime to think about the big picture of where you are and where you need to be can bring clarity to ways to get there. Write down or document your ideas as they come and build them out later.
Networking:
We know that business owners are never truly on vacation, so why not own it and make it work for you. Rather than trying to fight it, use your downtime to network with people that you can help and may be able to help you. This is a great time to network with potential customers, employees, vendors, partners, investors, etc. Don’t’ fight your natural instincts just put parameters on this task to not find yourself back on the job.
Practice a Hobby:
Whether it be fishing or golf, or word working don’t be afraid to indulge your hobby. A hobby is designed to provide you skills that you find value in and allow you to separate from your day to day work. A hobby keeps you productive but can be shared with friends and family and offer the much needed mental rest.
The next time you have some downtime, whether it be a couple of hours or days don’t feel guilty about using that downtime. If you spend it right, you will come back to work refreshed and much more effective than you were before.
References:
https://www.fastcompany.com/40572559/the-best-way-to-use-all-those-5-minutes-of-downtime-every-day
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/249916
