Will you use 20/20 vision for your summer break?

The year 2020 was a crazy, surprising and exhausting one. We were relieved when we reached its end, and then we launched ourselves back into 2021 with gusto, but most of us it seems, hit the go button too soon.

Around Mar/April I began hearing the same cry from many corners, business owners and leaders realizing they had made a mistake and were going to pay for it for the rest of 2021. They took a short break at Christmas thinking they needed to make up for lost time and to get cracking with 2021. They came back early in Jan. Two months later they were knackered, and it was taking a toll on their business and their health.

Maybe don’t make the same mistake this time? For most 2021 has been really hard, or really busy, or both. If you own a small business, run a team, or a company, you will have worked out of your skin staying competitive, resilient, and upbeat. You will have read the news, your sales pipeline, LinkedIn, the tea leaves… looking for 20/20 vision for what’s ahead.  You will have supported your team, clients, whanau, and friends. You will have had hard days/weeks/months. You will need to recharge.  

A decade or so ago I had a big year. I was thirty-something, single, and really bloody fit! I did the Coast to Coast, then a marathon, then a PB half, a PB 10km, and a couple of other things for good measure. I was flying – lean, strong, invincible. Until I wasn’t. I crashed hard... I couldn’t run for months, I almost couldn’t work, my metabolic health (and my running) never fully recovered. What happened? Well, I didn’t listen to my body, or to what others were telling me, and I wasn’t giving myself the time to recover and recharge.  

Running a business or a team is an endurance event. If you don’t take time to recharge you might not crash out of the race altogether, but you certainly won’t perform at your best.  So, use some 20/20 vision, take extra time to recharge this summer. If you can, take January off in full. If you have to come back to the office or to the team, ease back in. Start back on three days per week and/or work shorter days – knock off at 3 pm and take the kids / dog / chilli bin to the beach.

If you don’t, what are you risking? The business, the team, and your family need you to be at your best – to be supportive, resilient, and upbeat all over again. Will you have enough in the tank in 2022 or will you crash out of the race?