(May 22nd, 2024 Lift Up Email)
Do you have unused vacation days at the end of each year? Do you find it hard to take stress-free vacation time? Yes? Then keep reading because the answer may be to implement a 4 day work week.
If you’re employed, you likely have set vacation time – which you may or may not take each year. Some people say it’s too stressful to take vacation, so they skip it.
For business owners and solo practitioners like me, vacation time is a fluid concept that is often based on external factors, like client needs.
Many of my clients start working with me because they want to take more time off. They get frustrated by the stress of taking vacations.
One client was granted two extra weeks of vacation as part of his compensation package after he was promoted.
On a coaching call, he laughed as he explained, “Allison, I think they offered me the increase because they know I’d never take it all.”
He justified his lack of time off by saying he loves his work.
Imagine being granted two extra weeks of vacation and being too stressed to take it…enter the 4 day work week!
Loving your work is not a good enough reason to skip vacations.
Taking guilt-free time off is essential to optimizing performance without burning out.
Vacations break up the mundane reality of the daily grind.
Focused personal time is a chance to connect more deeply with others and to embrace self-care.
Time away from work offers a mental space for a fresh perspective to streamline operations, efficiencies, and deal with contentious dynamics at work.
So, we unpacked the whirlwind he experiences whenever he takes a vacation with his family:
He works long hours to clear his desk before vacation. This means he’s exhausted and extra stressed, which leads to fights with his family.
He takes at least three days to decompress from the intensity of the grind. Just as he starts to feel relaxed, it’s time to go home.
He checks his emails each day and it always takes longer than he expects. He justifies this because it’s easier to return to work if he’s up-to-speed on what’s happening.
His first day back, he hits the ground running with a full day of meetings and feels like he’s had no vacation at all.
Can you relate?
One effective way to use up vacation time is to take a day off each week this summer.
The idea of a 4-day workweek has been tested and proven to be beneficial, but it’s only helpful if the 5th day is truly a day of rest and not a day of collapse or catch up.
I filmed this video at the end of last summer after helping a client achieve a 4-day workweek for her and her whole office! I just published it on Monday:
7 Fast Tips to Achieve a 4-Day Workweek!
7 Fast Tips to Achieve a 4-Day Workweek this Summer and Take Fridays Off
If, after reading this or watching the video, you think, “Allison, I want more balance and to feel less stressed about my workload, too,” then you have two options for next steps.
Ask me about my coaching programs to streamline your workflows and achieve guilt-free time off, or take my online course: Optimize Your Workweek so you can Take Back Your Weekends
Before you close this email, let me ask you this:
If you’re not happy with how your current stress levels and your vacation success, when will that change? If you’re scared it won’t, then is it time to proactively fix that reality?
My problem solving framework and task circle system have worked so powerfully for so many of my clients, I’ve decided to do a summertime promotion.
Is spending $497 USD a worthwhile investment to
take back your time,
take back your weekends and
take back your life worth it?
Only YOU know the answer to that question, but I believe the answer is YES! You’re worth it.
Allison “Isn’t it time for a 4-day workweek?” Graham
How to Achieve a 4-Day Workweek for You And Your Team
If you don’t believe you are on top of your workload enough to take a fourday work week – you likely need my Task Circle System. It is a proven way to Take Back Your Time – and your life! Learn all about it in my Optimize Your Workweek online course.
Then check out my Optimize Your Workweek online course to discover my proven system for taking control of your time.
