Hey out there virtual assistants! I am prepping to unplug for the 4th of July holiday weekend here and I hope that you’re getting ready to do the same.

This brings up a point of interest for virtual assistants and service based businesses in particular. It’s easy to get caught up in the work and wanting to provide excellent and constant service at all times and then forget to take some time off for yourself. I know, because that has always been me. I am getting ready to unplug for the entire weekend Friday afternoon through Tuesday morning and it will be the first time I’ve done for more than 24 hours in a very long time. I’ll just say that when my family went to Disney World in the summer of 2006 I checked in with work daily…. and I’ll leave it at that.

So, my question to you today is do you take time off for yourself and to spend time with your family? It’s something very important that we all need to do, even if it is only for 24 hours, heck even if it’s only for 12 hours. You need to unplug once in awhile, step away from the high speed internet connection and get back into your life once in awhile. The world isn’t going to implode, your clients are not going to hate you, and nothing bad is going to happen. I promise.

Now, depending on the services you offer you may need to make arrangements with your clients and give them some emergency contact information while you’re taking time off to recharge your own batteries. That’s okay, do that. It’s also a good idea to have an assistant that can handle anything that comes up while you’re offline. Yes, I strongly you to get your own virtual assistant even though you are a virtual assistant!

Partner up with someone you already know or better yet hire someone that doesn’t celebrate the same holidays as you so you can swap holiday breaks. This works out really well in the long term because then neither of you misses a holiday ever again, it’s fabulous. She works for you while you’re recharging and you work for her while she’s recharging and enjoying a holiday.

Find a summer business buddy so you can cover for each other while taking a week’s vacation! Plan your family trips ahead of time and make sure they aren’t the same week and then let your clients know in advance. This is a great way for virtual assistants to help each other, especially if you have kids and are trying to cram in some summer fun before school starts back up.

I hope you take at least one day off this weekend, recharge yourself, relax, maybe even have a beer or two and catch a fireworks display!

Kind Regards,
Loretta Oliver

Filed under: Recharging Yourself

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