HOW TO TAKE A BREAK FROM YOUR ONLINE BUSINESS THIS CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY

As an online entrepreneur, if given the chance, I know I can work through the holidays and into the new year.

All it just takes is to whip out my laptop, connect to my internet and start working non-stop.

I admit that overworking is my toxic trait. And I know this may be the same for most people.

As creators/creatives/freelancers/online business owners (whatever the narrative is these days), it has been said of us many times that we can choose to work rather than to hangout with friends.

Whatever the case is, this holiday, we have to take a break from our online business.

You need to come back refreshed for a better 2023 and it all starts with taking time off work, enjoying the holidays and cooling down your head.

I understand that if you’re the only one working in the business currently, it may be difficult to just step away from it.

You feel like everything will grind to a halt and there may be no business to come back to.

Although, we’ll be discussing how to ensure that doesn’t happen, but one thing you need to understand is, not giving yourself permission to step away from your business will definitely cause it to grind to a halt.

You need to take a break so you can feel inspired, motivated and ready to churn out good ideas.

Alright, so how should you take a break? Let’s look at it step by step.

Before we go on, I made this in video, you should check it out

1. Plan Your Holiday

The first thing you want to do is to plan your holiday in advance.

Remember when we were kids and we would always look forward to the Christmas holidays because we knew we would enjoy our lives?

But as we grew up, everything changed. I think life just happened.

What erks me out the most is that many adults feel it is childish to have fun during the Christmas holidays.

I have literally caught my friends say that many times and even my colleagues.

There’s nothing childish about taking a break and enjoying the Chrstmas holiday.

Be deliberate about taking breaks, and most importantly, enjoying any given holidays.

So plan your holiday in advance, think of the places you want to go and look for friends who are interested in going out too.

For me, I have already mapped out the places I want to visit this Christmas and the friends I want to be paying a visit.

I have also sent them messages and they’ve agreed to host me.

If you are going to recreation centers, find out how much it will cost to get there and back and also how much their gate fees cost.

But if you are not going anywhere, maybe you have a tradition of staying at home with family to cook, then draw up a plan of how you’ll ensure it’s not a chore and what you’ll be cooking. Also, if you’d be having friends over.

Planning your holiday in advance is a great way to take a break from your online business this Christmas holiday.

2. Let People Know

I mentioned that I have messaged the friends I plan to visit this holiday and they’ve agreed to host me.

You want to let your friends know earlier that you have the best holiday plans and they’re going to be a part of it.

It is important that you let them know in advance so that you don’t just spring up on them and get disappointed because they have their own plans too.

Let your family know as well, what you plan to do during the holidays.

For someone like me whose parents are very traditional, they believe that Christmas holidays should be spent with family.

If I was newly married and I had a baby, of course I would. But staying at home, spending time with my parents is not as fun.

So they know that each Christmas holiday is spent walking around the streets of Lagos.

Let them know on time that you’ll be going out a lot this season and they shouldn’t expect you to be home often.

Finally, you want to let your clients know.

I kid you not, clients know how to subtly ruin your holidays if you don’t set boundaries.

They cound just call you up on the morning of the 25th and say they want a different design to go up, just because they are not ‘feeling’ the one you showed them.

How can you avoid this? Prior to your closing-for-the-year period, email them and let them know when you’ll be gone.

You also have to let them know whether their work will be on-going or not, that’s what they are really concerned about.

Let them know that their posts have been scheduled to go out at the appointed times, including their emails too.

Let them know that you’ll be closing for the year, how they can reach you while you’re away and the dates you’ll be back.

3. Have Self-Discipline

This is Christmas we are talking about, have a little self-discipline.

This is not the time to start clutching your laptop about or going out with it.

Because your business is predominantly online, you’ll be tempted to check emails, make work calls or create content.

This only shows that you cannot be disciplined with yourself and do the thing you said you’d do.

It is not totally easy to unplug from work just like that, I mean it’s pretty easy to get into work because everything you need is in your device, sitting steady on your palm.

But what you can do is tuck your laptop away and maybe close out your workspace.

In the end, you’ll be doing yourself a great favour.

---

Shop these holiday items

---

4. Tie Up Every Loose Ends

Alright, so let’s be honest here. I know you’re going on holidays, but you’ve been paid (or at least halfway), for the job and it needs to get done.

You’ve received payment for that sales copy, you’ve been paid to create that digital campaign, you’ve received advance payment for the designs and so on.

The job needs to be done, no excuses. Your client’s work is priority to them and they expect that it should be for you too.

What you want to do is to get the work done in advance.

Batch-create the content before you leave, create the designs as well.

What needs to be done now? Social media content creation? Go ahead and do that now.

Do you need to send weekly newsletters? Why not write them out now.

If you have done all the work you need to do in advance, you will spend your holidays with your mind at rest.

You will successfully take a break from your online business and not panic at the sight of a phone call or even a whatsapp message.

When you have created all the things that need to be created in advance, you can then schedule them.

With social media management tools, you can schedule Instagram and Facebook posts to go out at the same time.

You can schedule the newsletter on the email service provider. You can also set up autoresponders as well.

This point and the next are both ways to ensure you still have a business to come back to.

Related: Business Copies You Must be Able to Write as an Online Business Owner

5. Automate the Process

Your business might be pretty huge that you book clients on a regular basis, even during the holidays.

What happens when someone reaches out to you via email, while you are away enjoying the season?

There should be an automated email set up to go out in response to that.

In your email, ensure that you include details about your business, your offerings, prices, how you can be reached and the next steps the client should take.

It’s not going to be a simple process but it has to be effective and should not be too mechanical.

If a prospect sends you a DM on Instagram, they should get autoresponders. You can actually now set those up on Instagram.

Again, the autoresponder should include information that they need and must not sound too mechanical.

You need to make sure that your entire client onboarding process is automated.

With Customer Relationship Management tools (CRM) and social media management tools, you can achieve this successfully.

When this is done well, you can take a break from your online business for the meantime.

6. Log Off

Last but not the least, log off.

You’ve created the best holiday plans, you’ve told everyone that needs to know, you’ve tied up every loose ends, it is time to log off.

Revisit your plan, check your bucket list and mark every item on your checklist.

If you are going to travel, it is best to create a checklist of items you’d take with you.

Make your reservations before leaving your home, do your own research about the place you’d be visiting, and so on.

So that’s how to take a break from your online business this Christmas holiday so that you can get refreshed for 2023.

What holiday plans do you have? Pls share them with me.

If you’d be so kind, pls share this post with someone you think needs it or on your social media.