This International Women’s Day, the official theme from UN Women Australia is March Forward. I have to say over the years I’m proud to have made a real effort to take care of myself as a founder to keep marching forward.
Recently I decided to take a full month off from work. Anyone who runs their own company knows that this concept is not initially that exciting or easy to implement. As a founder with a strong vision (and a strong intuitive knowing of where our company can and will go) our work becomes our obsession and letting go… ha, not so easy!
I often describe it as “it never feels like it’s enough” and a “relentless addiction and obsession to your work — you simply can’t help yourself.”
While this mentality is what often equates to success, it can also quickly lead to burn out. I have to say over the years I’m proud to have made a real effort to take care of myself as a founder to avoid burn out. My team will tell you I have strong, defined boundaries that have kept me going. The boundaries are simple but they work.
Caveat to all this:
In the early days though, there were no boundaries. We put everything into starting the engine of the company we believed so much in. I believe in the early days you have to make big sacrifices (where your social life and time boundaries feel compromised for example) and hustle like it’s no one’s business (but your own, of course!).
Once you get to a certain point as a company, boundaries have to come in. Some examples of boundaries I implement on the regular:
Weekends 100% off with my husband and family. Phone and emails off by 8pm each night. Social media limits.
Strict meeting and appointment times that are set up 1-2 weeks in advance thanks to my EA Brooke.
Almost two years ago we made the decision to move to the USA to establish and grow our company here and we went back into the “building” mode which is so exciting, but also a huge workload to encounter. Especially as a YES person with such a solid belief in what our company can be in this market.
Anyway, that move and travelling between two countries probably led me close to burn out last year. So I decided a full month off is what I needed to reset and come back to work as a strong, clear leader. It literally took my team and one month to prepare for this time off. It had to be done properly this time.
So here’s what I learnt during those few weeks off:
As a founder (or anyone contributing to building a company in a significant way) acknowledging when you need time off or a minute is essential for continued building. It doesn’t have to be a month, but sometimes a couple days can really realign you. Listen to those needs. I’m not always so good at listening to that. Lesson learn-ing…
Your teams appreciate the ability to prove to you that “they’ve got it”. They enjoy autonomy. So, surrender. This time will strengthen them too.
Limited time off will not cause you to go backwards. If anything it brings you and the company forward. Despite what fear tells you.
As founders or company contributors, our energy needs space and creativity. We need time to reflect in order to keep the company’s vision clear and alive for the future.
The company’s needs become so clear with time away from the day-to-day grind.
As founders we are automatically leaders. However that doesn’t always come so naturally. As leaders, we have to be motivating and clear for our team, and when those aspects start to drop — it’s not going to do anyone or the company any good but ignoring those needs.
When you take that time off, you really need to do it and honour it. No breaking of the rules — for it to be valuable time off.
You do need a great team around you to be able to step back. Time away will show the true strong team members.
Taking time off is initially very scary (and almost feels like a withdrawal of some kind), but have faith that the end result will be very positive.
Lastly — it’s no small feat building a company.
I truly believe we can chase our dreams and stay true to our goals without sacrificing our health along the way. I know we can do it.
Jess x