Taking time off from work is hard to do, especially if you’re someone who’s come up with a company all on your own and you don’t want to miss a second of it! But taking a break from time to time is essential: it means you can come back with a refreshed mindset and a lot more energy, and that’s incredibly important for taking your business into the future. Running a company that was once just your brainchild can get incredibly stressful from time to time, and you’re going to need those moments of down time to fall back on.
So, taking a break is something you absolutely need to do, no matter how much longer you think you can stick it out. And of course, whilst you’re away enjoying yourself, there’s always going to be some nagging thoughts in the back of your mind about how the company is doing without you. So to better put these at rest, let’s make sure you file away some important administration tasks before you relax for a couple of weeks – here’s some ideas for what to get squared away.
Leave clear orders for who’s in charge
Before you go, you’re going to leave someone in charge. Maybe you already have a manager or two to keep things going when you’re not in office and working from home, maybe you need to sort out a hasty promotion for someone in the next couple of days. Either way, you need to know you’ve got one person stepping up to the plate, and that there’s clear orders left for them to follow.
Of course, if they’re already in a more senior position in your company, they’re going to be able to take some initiative. But if any events or activities are running through the calendar during your time away, you need to be sure they’re taking the direction you would want on them. For example, if a conference surrounding networking or leadership is coming up, you want them to deliver a pitch you yourself hand wrote, with all the flowing charisma and knowhow you’d expect from someone in charge of a company. Leave them notes on how to act, who to contact, and what to say, and let them get on with the job.
But if you’ve had to temporarily promote someone to a position of authority over the rest of your team, you need to be sure they’ve got the basics of leadership down as well. Record a video for them running them through all of the admin tasks they’ll have to complete, and make sure you leave your contact details for them if they ever need to get in touch. The effort will pay off here! You want your staff to be able to thrive whilst in a position like this, and you want your company to thrive whilst you’re away, ready for you to pick up the mantle again once you’ve come back.
Tie up loose ends before you go
And by loose ends we mean any tasks that you think could survive until you get back again – you don’t want to have weeks old work on your plate for your refreshed mindset to fall back into a trap with! So before you take your break away from your business, and you absolutely should take the time for this, be sure to square away any old admin or quick tasks you could get done before you clock out on your last day. It won’t take much out of you, and it’s going to pay you back tenfold when you arrive in the office on that Monday morning a couple of weeks from now.
Get all those papers and forms filed away into the correct places. Make sure you’ve already booked the cleaning team to come in during the evenings whilst you’re away. Restock the post it notes you like keeping in your desk drawers. Anything you can think of right now that won’t take more than a few minutes to complete whilst you’re still at the office are loose ends you can do without!
Make sure you’re leaving a tech expert
Or at someone who knows their way around a computer at least! You’re going to want the office to stay smooth and in control whilst you’re not there, and it’s not just the human elements you’re going to need to keep an eye on. After all, you’ve got an entire company network at your disposal, and any part of that system could go down at any time. That’s just the nature of technology!
So be sure you’re leaving someone who knows where the wifi router is and how to reset it, or someone who knows the IT support team’s number and will remember to call it in an emergency. Make sure you’ve got someone around who knows how to change the printer ink and toner, and won’t panic when someone accidentally pulls a wire out of their computer and the screen goes blank. It’s the little things like these that make sure you’ll be able to relax whilst on your break, seeing as the devil’s in the details!
Make sure you’ve scheduled a plumbing inspection
Last, but certainly not least, make sure your break room is in tip top condition. And most specifically, make sure the plumbing system that keeps the sink running and the coffee machine filled up and the toilets flushing is in perfect working condition. After all, water pumps degrade over the months and years of repeated use, and knowing your luck, the whole system will break down whilst you’re away! So be sure you’ve got a plumber coming in on your last day at work, or your first day gone away, to check your pipes and pumps out.
Putting your mind at rest whilst away from your business means you need to do a lot of preparation. Get it all sorted out now.
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