Vacation and Why Entrepreneurs Need to Rest

Sleepless nights, work without a break, and lunches on the run are familiar for many entrepreneurs. Most business owners continue to do business even while on vacation as Entrepreneurs Need to Rest. All this would sound heroic, if it were not for the consequences to which uninterrupted work leads.

What a Vacation Is and Why Entrepreneurs Need to Rest

To begin with, rest is a physiological necessity and Entrepreneurs Need to Rest too. People need to recharge their batteries regularly, the same way they charge their phones regularly. We always keep track of how much interest we have left because we want to stay connected. Inside, it would be great for us, too, to have an indicator showing our power reserve.

Working long hours without rest can drive a person into a mood disorder. Sleep is disturbed, irritability increases, cognitive functions deteriorate: attention, memory, reaction speed. In case of inactivity, after a while, apathy or even emotional burnout sets in – this is when you can still come to work and do something, but slowly and poorly, without pleasure. In the worst case, if you do nothing, the hormonal background is disturbed and there is a risk of being in a depressive episode.

Studies show that such a schedule can have a negative impact not only on the health of the entrepreneur but also on business. Lack of rest leads to decreased creativity and affects flexibility of thinking. So Entrepreneurs Need to Rest today.

Am I Getting Enough Rest? 3 Self-test Questions

How Am I Sleeping?

Alarming signal: you want to sleep too much or your sleep becomes too fast and intermittent and its amount decreases.

How Am I Eating?

Alarming signal: the relationship with food is changing, the person forgets or refuses to eat or, on the contrary, “swallows” everything in a row without noticing what he ate and when.

What’s My Mood Like?

Alarming signal: nothing pleases, makes you sad or angry, you don’t want to communicate with friends and relatives.

If the results of all three items are not happy and this condition lasts over weeks in a row, it is worth seeing a doctor to rule out health problems.

What Should Rest Be Like 

The culture of conscious rest is just emerging, and more and more people are starting to talk about it. But even if you suddenly discover that there is life besides work, it is not always clear what to do with it now. One of the common problems is when a person already understands that it is time to rest, but cannot yet figure out what exactly he needs to do to do this.

Then questions arise: “Is rest just lying around? I am bored.” Or, on the contrary: “I will go and do something active, but then I won’t manage to recover, because I’ll waste a lot of energy again. These are two extremes, between which there are many possibilities. It’s up to each person to choose the ones that are right for him or her.

There are two kinds of rest: recovery and enrichment.

Restoration is all about sleep. It is needed so that our brain can unconsciously process all the information we have received. We sometimes have strange dreams because of this: they are the stories of the day we saw and our experiences. Sleep is the only time we don’t consume anything new. Taking quality breaks from consumption is especially important now that there is more and more information around.

Enrichment is any enjoyable activity that breaks the routine and adds strength. For example, meetings with people, who energize you and fill you up, or playing simple games with bright graphics at the PlayAmo . Even a light workout for those who work their heads off all day long will do. Enrichment can be both emotional and bodily. Movement is vital to us.

Tools for Recovery

The first thing to ask yourself is how you understand your fatigue. It comes in all sorts of ways, too. If you solve math examples for a long time, one “part” of our body gets tired, after a jog, another, and after a raucous party with friends, a third.

It’s useful to keep track of these types of fatigue and know how they feel. Then it will be easier to find a solution. For example, those who are tired from socializing may need to sit in silence. If you’re tired from a long run, lie down to rest your legs. If the intellectual part is tired, maybe it’s time to just watch YouTube videos.

Simplifying the toolkit process means saving energy. It’s always easier to use a cheat sheet than to search from scratch every time. So it’s a good idea to make and fix for yourself an individual algorithm to which you can refer. For example, check by experience that you personally need at least 8 hours of sleep to feel good, and fall asleep no later than 11 pm. In this way, you can break down all the basic aspects: sleep, food, communication, physical activity.

Try opening your schedule. Are there dedicated break times? Is it possible to get a coffee? If not, start inserting such slots, at least 10 minutes at a time. For example, work for 45 minutes, rest for 10-15 minutes. Include in them something that helps you relax specifically: a walk with your pet, an episode of your favorite show, meditation.

It’s aerobatics to plan your workload in advance. If you know that the next week is very busy, are you sure you’ll have the energy to drink wine with friends? In big cities, people often get angry when faced with their own limitations. The FOMO syndrome kicks in, you can’t miss anything that’s going on. Then, instead of sleeping, we drink energy.

Enrichment Tools

If you don’t yet understand what activities energize you and make you happier, try to remember what you were interested in as a child. What did you do when you got bored? Drawing, perhaps? Or went for a walk in the yard with your friends?

Try to resume such activities. Conduct an experiment to see how interesting it would be now. Some of our activities don’t change, we choose our jobs and hobbies out of the same motives.

Another option is to look at what other people are doing, and ask yourself if you want to try it. You can make a list and start trying something. You don’t have to delve into some hobby, become a very good artist, or become a guitar champion. Just take a guitar lesson and see what it’s all about. Go to clay molding, go on quick dates and meet people, have a little fun.

What to Do if Sleep and Hobbies Don’t Help

First, ask yourself what it is that makes you tired, what you spend so much energy on. It is important to remember that you can get tired not only from work. For example, if someone is sick in the family, part of your energy will be spent worrying about the sick. You can get tired of worrying about that person even though you love them.

You can get tired of responsibility. This is especially true of entrepreneurs, who continue to work within themselves, even when they are busy doing something else.

The more points of reference, the easier it will be for you to go on vacation or just turn off your phone for a while and not constantly look at your notifications. It’s always an individual story, here are just a few ideas:

• Find a helper you trust who can pick you up during your vacation.
• Ask for support from friends, family, and a partner.
• Think about how you can provide yourself with a financial cushion: set aside money, take out a loan, ask friends or your partner.
• Think of another project that you will switch to, ideally one that brings in even a small income.

If you feel bad for a long time, see a psychologist. The source of the problem may lie deeper than it seems. It is useful to understand what you have in general in life, how the sphere of recreation, as it was accepted to relax in the family. Suddenly you come from a family of workaholics who can’t stop working. It may turn out that you are influenced by a trauma that has been passed down from generation to generation.