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According to Inc. Magazine, there are 3 main things entrepreneurs fear about taking a vacation. Do any of these resonate with you?

• fear of being replaced
• facing what we “left behind” (like our family)!
• getting off the treadmill

Fear: it can be both a motivator and a cause for procrastination. Fear can have a mysterious hold on us. In this case, let’s go through the fears listed above, and demystify them.

Fear of Being Replaced: What is this one all about? I know that as an employee, I feared being replaced while being out on maternity leave, which is a real concern. But will a week really make a difference? If so, perhaps you should assess your value to your market and your unique offering.

Facing what we left Behind: This one is telling. If we leave behind our family then fear reconnecting with them, it seems that other issues must be addressed. For example, what expectations does your family have of you, and you of your family since you are an entrepreneur? It can be a lonely life sometimes, and not every family can ride the wave of an entrepreneur’s life.

Getting off the treadmill: Here we are talking about re-assessing. Vacation generally means we have time away from our “regular” lives, where we find a new perspective. It can be refreshing and rejuvenating (which is the whole purpose, really). But when we are forced to stop doing what we do every day, it can also be a little scary. Lean into this fear, entrepreneur, and stay nimble!

Overall, the science says vacation is a good thing. More unplugging leads to a creative mind. The creative mind is one thing that can’t be outsourced. So, when you fear being replaced…it’s all the more reason to get away! Happy trails!

Sound impossible? It’s not. We’ll do a deep dive into this topic on 6/5 but for now, let’s get started. Here are some of the questions and/or feelings you may have:

• I have so much to do, and so little time. I want to be more efficient!
• I want to balance my work life and my home life.
• My boss keeps asking me to switch projects and/or stay late. I want to be valuable but I am starting to get a bad taste in my mouth. How do I stand up for myself and not get in trouble?

With these 3 examples and more, you can turn your work life around so that you are:

• getting more done in less time
• eating dinner with your family again (without your phone)
• earning respect from others; even your (difficult) boss.

Start here on the Road To Respect and Fulfillment

ASK YOURSELF a very powerful question: When am I at my best? When do I get the most done? For most people, this happens either VERY early in the morning, mid-day about 10 am to 12 noon, or for some….late at night. Let’s focus on that mid-day timeframe since it falls during the work day.

NEXT QUESTION: What one project, that if I worked two hours on it, would get me my biggest return for my time with respect to my/ my organization’s long-term goals?

NOW: Guard that time and that project. Start brainstorming ways to say “no” to “typical interruptions” such as inter-office meetings. Block yourself out as Busy at least one time during the week during that time frame; more is better. (hint: you’ll get so much done in this block that you will keep doing it).

How? How do you “say no” so easily? Some ideas for you:

• “I’d love to, but I have another commitment at that time. Could we do x or x time?”
• If it’s your boss, and you are working on a big priority that s/he supports, you could mention that, and underscore that importance (along with the high-productivity time frame it is within.) You might ask him/her which one he/she feels is most important and remind the boss that this will delay the first project accordingly.

Remember, most people want to hear how you can support THEM. So when you stand on their side of the fence and try seeing their point of view, they’ll typically respond more favorably.

They say that when you in business, every day must appear as if you are in Disney World. It’s a magical place of dreams.

I think that’s only partially true. While there is no doubt that customers are drawn to the “seemingly perfect and impossible,” they are also quite weary of it. All of us human beings are imperfect. Society breeds pressure to pretend. And while the vision of everyone walking the streets “bare chested with their problems in view” is a laughable idea, I submit that moving closer to vulnerability moves us closer to the dreamy perfection we wish we could attain.

The other night, I was at a Business After Hours Event. I was speaking to a fellow business associate, who I know only casually, about the feeling of overwhelm that another businessperson felt in her job. The reaction I received was surprising and revealing.

Here was the reaction: This is not okay. It is not okay to be overwhelmed, and, it’s certainly not okay to be talking about overwhelm in a business environment. 

I had to do some backpedaling at that point. There was no presentation given about this feeling. This feeling was disclosed to me in a very safe, one to one, business environment. And while we need to be strong and carry on, our vulnerability creates connections with others. Nobody is created in the plastic perfectness that is Disney. Opening up our imperfections is the first step to greatness. To become a true leader and grow professionally and personally we must hold true to the “A” in the ABC’s of Productivity, “Accept Your Reality.” What does this mean to you? What is that nagging feeling unappreciated at work? Not heard; invisible? Do you worry that if you speak up you may not be respected for being too “weak?”

Think for a moment about a leader you admire. Does this person have any servant qualities? Does he or she laugh at herself? Does he or she share mistakes made and lessons learned? The leaders I can think of in this realm are: Jesus Christ, Barack Obama, Thomas Jefferson, Mother Teresa, and my mentor coaches, Melinda Cohen and Kate Steinberger.

Strong and vibrant companies and organizations are made of committed, fulfilled, and strong individuals. When each person, each cog on the gear is willing to take a good look at how he/she might use their strengths for the good of the team, and transparently share the places in which he/she is less strong, they open up to learning and growing. The team binds together in a more cohesive manner. Productivity increases. Happiness results. Profits grow.

Conversely, when we ignore the warning signs of overwhelm, burnout, antiquated systems, etc., we run the risk of crashing and burning. I had a client, a business owner, who ignored this for too long and the company went bankrupt. Luckily, the owners of this company were able to downsize and re-tool their business, and come back stronger than ever. Along the way, though, it meant becoming transparent and vulnerable. It was scary to be “weak.” The rewards, however, continue to surpass their wildest dreams.

What will you be open to this spring? It’s time to air out so that new growth can take hold and flourish.

We can do that: MORE and BETTER. But first, I challenge you, ask yourself WHY. Then ask WHY you want that WHY.

Your first WHY answer might be something like, “…So that I can manage my time better and be more effective at work.” The “why behind the why” is more like, “I am losing credibility with my colleagues because I am generally running late and don’t always have what I need for meetings. I think I am going to get passed over for that promotion, and in fact, I am not sure how much longer it may be that I’m employed here. That scares me because my family counts on me for this income, and I’ll feel like a failure unless I can prove that I can excel here.”

Do you see how different the first “why” is from the second “why?” The second “why” taps into our feelings. Human beings are more motivated by fear of failure than by the promise of self-improvement. True story. One of my clients actually had to go bankrupt before she was ready to do More and Better. At that point, she ceased caring what the “world thought of her”- and went full speed ahead to Being More, Being Better, Being Brilliant.

If you have been meaning to attend one of my events and have not made the time to do so, there’s an opportunity around the corner, and you don’t even have to leave the office. On October 5^th at 1 pm Eastern, I’m doing a webinar (see sign up info in the margin). Here’s a video (9 minutes long) to explain it a big. Fast forward to minute 2 for the “meat” of the program, so you may determine if it’s a good fit for you (if your WHY is strong enough, I mean)!

CLICK HERE TO LEARN 5 WAYS TO ACCOMPLISH A LOT MORE IN A DAY

Here’s a tip to get you started before Oct 5^th: For meetings, follow the EpS rule:

E = Eliminate the meeting when it’s not needed;

P = Prepare. Everyone needs the agenda at least 24 hours in advance. Set expectations.

S = Stick to the Agenda. 1.) HAVE an agenda; 2.) Use Robert’s Rules to run the meeting; 3.) Begin and end right on time.

Do more, do better, and do it for the reasons that are heartfelt and meaningful to you. Tell me, what ONE thing will you do differently this week now? Go ahead, just shoot me a quick email about it: Carol@eps-time.com. I’d love to hear how this positions your week.