As entrepreneur moms, it can be hard to get time to focus solely on ourselves and our businesses. Life is so busy day-to-day that setting aside intentional time for focus, reflection, and self-care doesn’t happen. But, there is value in getting away from it all so you can take time to refresh. If we do this, we can come back better able to tackle our work and family responsibilities. This article will teach you how to make it happen and have a personal work retreat.
I get it. I have been a solo, work-from-home attorney for almost 10 years now. I have a very flexible schedule and tend to work in few-hour chunks of time. This works fine, but I long for 8-9 hour work days.
Growing a business takes time for strategic planning, working on big projects, and time for just thinking. This is hard to do when you’re only working a few hours at a time. When you have a personal work retreat, you can take time to work on your business instead of just in your business.
You can do this anyway you want. If you can get away from home, it will be easier to truly focus on yourself and your business. But, if you can’t manage that, there is still value in setting aside intentional time to do these things, even if it’s just a few hours.
Why take a personal work retreat?
As entrepreneur moms, we spend a lot of time taking care of our families and working on our businesses. It seems like there is never enough time to do all the work I want to do. I think everyone would benefit from taking a retreat, but especially entrepreneur moms. Why?
- Getting away from your normal responsibilities frees up mental energy that is otherwise devoted to our children and our households. When you don’t have to worry about these things, you have more brain power to focus on your business.
- We don’t necessarily lose ourselves when we become moms, but we do spend a lot of time thinking about what other people need and things that need to be done. Just look at all the articles that have been written about the mental load moms face. Not considering anyone else’s needs for a couple of days can help you reconnect with yourself and what it is you want.
- When you’re working from home with kids, it’s hard to make time to focus on the big picture for our businesses. Getting away from work that “has” to be done to focus on growth and plans for the future is time well spent.
Now that you know why a personal work retreat will be good for you and your business, you need to prepare for it!
1. Decide what kind of personal work retreat you want
Everyone, and every business, is different so you’re ideal retreat may look different from mine. I suggest doing the things that aren’t easy to do in the day-to-day. I also suggest doing some things to take care of yourself and that you really enjoy. One of the goals of this retreat is to refresh yourself, so not sleeping and working 20 hours a day is not your best bet.
No matter what else you include on your retreat, you need to include at least some time for reflection and thinking about the future. These two things require an area of our brains that is hard to access when you’re busy thinking about a million other things.
2. Practice some self-care
Yes, this is a work retreat, but it’s a personal work retreat. As a mom {heck, as a human}, I can almost guarantee you aren’t spending as much time taking care of yourself as you could be. As an entrepreneur, you are your business, so taking care of yourself is non-negotiable. Burnout is real and you’re not doing yourself any favors by constantly hustling.
This could look like a few hours at a spa or getting a massage. But, it can also look like putting on a sheet mask from Target and reading a book. In my opinion, sleep is always self-care!
3. Make a vision board
A vision board is simply a visual representation of your goals. Grab a bunch of magazines, scissors, and something to put your cutouts on. I use a cork board with pretty pushpins, but anything would work.
Spend 10 minutes picturing your ideal life. Think about yourself, your family, and your business. What words come to mind? What specific goals do you have? What do you need to make you feel like you are truly successful?
Flip through your magazines and cut out anything that inspires you. I can be pictures that make you feel a certain way. Words that motivate you. When you first go through, it’s best to keep anything you think you might want to use. You can always week it out later.
Start assembling your vision board. Use your magazine cutouts and fill in missing pieces by creating something to print from your computer. For example, I have an income goal on my vision board. I looked for it in magazines, but didn’t find it, so just typed and printed it to be included.
4. Make a plan for what work you want to accomplish
If there’s a big project you’re working on, the personal work retreat is the perfect time to do it. Maybe you want to use the time to get ahead on content to free up time once you go home. Maybe there’s a course you want to get through.
Whatever it is you want to do, make a list and prioritize it. You can work on whatever, but I find it’s best to do the things that otherwise won’t get done at home. My client work always gets done, so there’s no reason for me to do that on my retreat. The course I want to create, on the other hand, keeps getting pushed to the back burner.
5. Be intentional with your time
It’s great to get away for a few days, but if you aren’t using that time productively, then you may come home and feel like you squandered away that time.
If you don’t get much time away from your kids, spend an hour doing whatever you want and relishing it. Then, start focusing on the things you came there do.
Social media and TV can be huge time sucks at home, but you can also fall victim to them away from home. If you want to make the most of your time away, avoid unintentional distractions as much as you can.
6. Prepare for what’s ahead
No matter when you take your personal work retreat, spend some of your time planning out what’s coming up for you. If it’s a new year, this can be a great time for New Year’s goals. If it’s May, that’s a great time to plan out Q3 and Q4 for your business. If it’s a random month, look ahead at the next 2-3 months and see what you have going on and how you can best prepare for that.
It’s easy to lose track of what you need to do to fulfill your dreams in the midst of everyday life. Taking a personal work retreat allows you to knock some things off your to-do list and return to your life recharged and invigorated.
Whether you’re able to get away for a few hours or a few days, do these 6 things to plan a great personal work retreat.