Take a Break

Living by the beach means June, July and August are crazy months when all the tourists arrive. Our village has just 69 locals. The numbers swell to 10,000+ as the tourists arrive, holiday homes open, camper van arrive in their hundreds and day trippers cosy up in beach bars. Come 31st August, they all go home and we "locals" get our summer vacation. It's heavenly.

When I first started as an entrepreneur, 35 years ago. My first business coach said, work for 6 weeks, take 2 weeks off. You need one week to wind down and the second week you'll get plenty of fresh ideas for your business to put a plan together. Then, you spend 6 weeks implementing the plan by which time you're ready for the next break. And so the cycle continues.

The system worked well when I had a bricks and mortar business but when I went online it was different. Then, I worked in projects. Get this project done and monitor - take a break and create the next project then take the next break.

Today, the system has changed yet again, now I start work at 9:00am and finish at the latest by 2pm. Siesta time, glorious sunsets and just a few nights a month coaching. But, I still enjoy taking a break during September when we practically have the beach to ourselves. Living just 30 metres from the beach has it's benefits.

But back to business - the time taken off in September is the start of the planning process for the coming year. Some of the questions I ask myself

• What have you achieved so far this year
• What goals still need work and how I plan to complete them
• What do I want to achieve next year
• Start putting the plan together - this will be a work in progress for the next few months with a 1st January launch.

In 35 years as an entrepreneur the planning process is still my favourite part of business. I get excited about the prospects for the coming year and it all starts with taking a break.

How do you create your business plans?