It’s just a little bit over a week until Christmas. Have you figured out what your business is going to do when you’re taking time off? In this post, I’ll share with you my five steps on how to prepare your business for time off. 

 

Merry Christmas! I don’t know about you, but right around the fourteenth day of December things start to get REAL. 

You might have some baking to do, family events to finish up organizing, presents to wrap, and the list could go on, right? 

Here’s to hoping my five steps can help you set up your business for success, so you don’t have to worry about it while you are making memories with your family for Christmas. 

 

 

Step 1: Think about your boundaries and set them up now. 

What do I mean by that? I mean you’ve acquired some bad habits throughout the year. Checking your phone all the time. The first thing you do when you wake up is check Instagram or your email, or things like that. 

To combat this, I want you to think about what you want your Christmas to be like. What would happen if you were your best self for your Christmas holiday this year? You could create fun memories with your kids and have this be a rejuvenating time for yourself.  

Since there is enough stress surrounding Christmas like preparing for family get togethers or fulfilling expectations for gifts, setting boundaries for work will take that load off and you will be more focused on creating happy memories with your family. 

What boundaries can you set right now so you can create a better memory of Christmas for yourself and your kids? 

No, it’s not a big deal to check your phone every once in a while. It’s understandable to still need to be available to important clients if there is an emergency, but having boundaries in place will help ease the transition for you and your clients for much needed, and wanted, vacation time. 

So, what do your boundaries look like?

 

 

Will you take some time away from your phone and email? Do you need to let some clients know you won’t be available during a certain time period? 

I hope you’ve thought about those things. I want you to write down those boundaries, first thing. Decide how much time you will be working or not working and the details along with it to let it be a smooth transition away from work. 

Step 2: Decide on your vacation days. 

Look at your calendar and decide how many days you can take off and then schedule them. 

Be very clear on those dates. You can be very clear by setting up systems, which brings me to my next step. 

Step 3: Create systems so you can be on vacation mode. 

The first, and easiest, system to set up is your email. You can set up an autoresponder to let people know the time frame you will be away, and when they can expect a reply. 

This is an easy and clear way to let people know your boundaries and that they don’t need to worry where you are when they don’t get an immediate reply like they normally do. 

Your bigger clients should of course have your cell phone number and can text you about any emergencies if something were to happen during your time off. 

Another tip to keep your audience busy while you’re away is to provide past episodes, videos, etc. for them to re-listen to or rewatch. This gives them something to do and gets them excited about when you come back with new content. 

Another automated system to set you up for success is scheduling content. 

By the way, if you’re interested in learning how to do more with your email than just set up automated responses while you’re away, check out my blog post here about an email marketing system I use. 

 

Step 4: Schedule out your content. 

If you look ahead and schedule out your content, this automated system can be working for you while you’re away from your computer for the next week and a half. 

Let your audience know what to expect, too. I’ll take my own advice and let you know this is my last blog post for my podcast this year. I will be back in the new year with new content for you! I’m super excited about it, so make sure to listen here and meet me here on the blog for the show notes. 

Whatever your main stream is for content–Instagram, YouTube, etc.–let your audience know you’ll be taking a break and when they can expect to see or hear from you again. 

Hopefully, you can create that feeling of anticipation for them by promising bigger and better things when you return! 

Step 5: Make a list.

Make a list of all the things you want to do right now until the end of the year. Then, separate the list into “must do” and “nice to do” items. 

This is probably the most important step because when you have your own business you have so many options of what you could be doing to grow. 

You could be creating a course, helping a client, etc., so it can be overwhelming just trying to decide which to-do items are first and most important.

Creating this list will help you focus your energy on the “must do” items. Hopefully this will help you finish them before you leave for the holidays. If you don’t get to the “nice to do” items it’s not a big deal because they were just that–nice to do. 

Once you create this list you’ll have some peace of mind. You will feel a bit more organized in your head and on paper. Yes, we want that! 

 

Prepare Your Business for Time Off

Time to go prepare your business for time off! I hope these five steps help you feel like you’re actually on vacation when on your vacation. 

So, what will your holiday look like this year? Will it be peaceful, frazzled, filled with carols and cookies? It’s up to you. 

Doing these five steps will help you hone in on making those sweet memories with your family this Christmas. 

Be sure to follow me on Instagram here for tips and tricks and exciting content for the new year!

I can’t wait to see you in the new year. Merry Christmas!