There is a world beyond business - who knew?

How’s your summer going?  

Don’t know about you but I was more than ready to switch off, yet it’s not that easy to do is it?  I find it is only when I go away; leave the building, that I totally turn off the business switch.

That said, I am enjoying the slower pace and while I may do a little writing each day, it is not the same as the frenetic speed required for the rest of the year.

I am also spending my time with friends – people I haven’t touched base with for a while, often people who are not business connections.  That in itself is a break. Although with all my wining and dining, I am hoping I don’t pack on all the weight I have recently lostJ

But it is fun to catch up; to talk about stuff other than business.  There is a world beyond our businesses… who knew.

Come August I know I will have to get into gear… fast, but until then I am enjoying this time to get to know new friends, reacquaint myself with others and just reconnect with myself and what I want out of life.

Checking out

I don’t know about you, but it is only when I leave my office.  In fact, leave the country and my cell phone and all electronics behind, that I really get to switch off.

Life without my business.  Hard to imagine but it is important to do, because sometimes in our hectic life as business owner, we lose track of who we are and can become too caught up in the day-to-day nuances of running our business.

It will still be there when I get back.  But I will return a different person.  Hopefully more mellow and relaxed about stuff, and my memory more in tact.  I’ve noticed lately that my hard drive must be full as I’ve been getting dates wrong or forgetting stuff.  A definite sign that it’s time to reboot and rediscover the real Anne Day.

It’s actually good to experience a few weeks without the business in the background, because there will come a day, when I won’t be the business owner and if all my identity and sense of worth is tied up in it, it doesn’t bode well for the years ahead.

And I have lots I want to do, including the two books I need to finish this summer. But somehow that is different.   I like projects like that where there is a beginning, a middle and an end.

But right now, I am at the beginning.  The beginning of a few weeks of just resting up, visiting with friends, enjoying the beautiful scenery and finding peace as the waves lash to the shore.  Sounds pretty good doesn’t it?  I’ll let you know.

Have a wonderful July.

Summer - it's a time to slow down

I love summer.  Partly because the pace is slower (and I have very few events) but also because for me, it’s a time for reflection, restoration and rejuvenation – so come the fall I am ready to take on another year.

At a recent Company of Women meeting we explored how we used our summer time. For many there were plans, loose at times depending on what industry you are in, but definitely time to slow down.

But few of us can afford to take the months of July and August completely off and we chatted about what you can do so you focus on your business, but not so intensely.

Certainly with reflection, you can look back on the year to date and ask yourself what has worked, what hasn’t and where do you need to focus your energies in the months ahead. Megan and I used to always do a Stop. Start. Continue. exercise which made us analyze what we needed to do and change. 

One year we questioned whether we really needed members, now that was the year I knew we needed a break!  Clearly that was one stop that we didn’t implement.  But I do think it is important to be open to dramatic changes, and not to feel locked in because you’ve always done it this way.

Getting your systems and files in order is another task I often assign to the summer months.  Each year I try to accumulate less paper.  I look forward to the time that I can boast having a paperless office.

I don’t know about you, but I like to use my time in the summer months to catch up with friends and meet with people I want to see, but have not been able to squeeze into my busy schedule.  Sadly it is often our friendships that get put on the back burner, and yet our girlfriend time is what can revitalize us.  There is nothing quite like a good laugh with girlfriends over a glass of wine. 

Our time on the slow lane also allows us to pause and determine if we are in fact heading in the right direction.  I find during the hectic months of my year, I am almost on auto-pilot, and it is good just to cruise for a while and explore the side roads, instead of just tearing down the highway, both literally and figuratively speaking.

Whatever you do this summer, I hope you have a good one and come back in the fall, rested and raring to go.

Chilling in the summer

At the beginning of the summer I was on a real professional high.  We’d just pulled off a very successful conference; there was a buzz about our organization and I’d had a great team meeting with everyone all excited about the year ahead.

Then all of a sudden, everything in my personal life started to fold.  Our house sale fell through when the home inspector found our basement flooded. (The sump pump died, as did the deal).  I know, I will laugh about this some time, but not yet. 

More on the water theme, my car got flooded while I was away on vacation, with over four inches floating inside.  It cost a small fortune to be fixed.  As one friend joked, with all these water disasters, maybe I should avoid going on a cruise.

And then sadly, we had to put our dog down. I guess bad stuff happens in threes, and so my hope is that we’re done but all this has kind of shaped my summer. 

We did have a wonderful vacation and I was really mellow when I got back; so much so that I didn’t want to rev up again, but more sit back and continue reading a good book. But it has been three weeks since we got back, and I am still in slow-down mode. 

I’d rather be outside enjoying the warm weather than sitting inside at my computer.  I’d rather be meeting up with friends than knuckling down to planning the fall programs.  Truth is, I’d rather be anywhere than working at my desk.

I’ve talked to friends and it would seem I am not alone.  After our long winter, many of us are just basking in the warm rays, making the most of the summer months. Avoiding the pull to get back on the fast lane, we’d rather putter along and take in the scenery.

So I have decided to just go with the flow.  I know eventually I will have to get at it, but not yet. 

PS  We have since sold our home, so maybe we’ve turned a corner.