Every year, I take a sabbatical—a set number of weeks dedicated to unplugging from my business and pouring back into myself before diving back into the rest of the year’s work. My annual sabbatical tradition has given me space to rest, dream, travel, and refill my cup… which has, in turn, allowed me to return to work feeling refreshed and having gained a certain clarity I couldn’t have found without stepping away for a bit. By intentionally caring for myself, I’m able to then show up as the best version of myself for my business, my clients, and my team.

Friend, I know it feels like there’s no time for rest in the middle of the year. You have projects to work on, clients to serve, launches coming up. But realistically, I’ve found that I’m actually my most creative self after taking time to rest. When I’m my most creative, I’m able to do my best work and create my best ideas. And that’s when I see my most dramatic business growth. So taking an annual sabbatical is actually a direct way to pour into my business and ensure its long-term success.

Now, let’s be clear: when I first made the decision to take an annual sabbatical, it took a monumental amount of planning and a fierce dedication to make such a time of rest and refresh possible. But I promise you, it’s SO much more attainable than you think!

So today, I’m breaking it all down for you, fellow entrepreneur! I’m sharing all about my process for carving out this intentional time so that you, too, can create a season of rest and space in your business. If you’re long overdue for a break from your biz, then friend, I encourage you to keep on reading!

WHY (AND HOW) I TAKE AN ANNUAL SABBATICAL

Friend, I understand that you may be hesitant about the idea of an annual sabbatical. You may not feel able to take an extended period of time off because you fear that…

• You’ll be letting your clients down or fall behind on your current client work.
• You could miss opportunities for new business.
• You’re simply going to go broke.

I completely understand those feelings and fears. In total honesty, I’ve wrestled with each and every one of them myself! But, sweet friend, operating out of those places of fear will quickly lead to an uncontrollable season of burnout. Trust me on that one. As creative entrepreneurs, we need to rest and prioritize our health (mental, physical, and otherwise) as human beings before we’re able to fully focus on the health of our businesses.

That realization helped me take the leap and work toward taking more control over my life. Before, I was allowing my business to dictate my priorities. But since then, I’ve realized the importance of a true work/life balance and why prioritizing self-care is a must in order to see true growth within my business (even if that means taking time off, which sounds counter-intuitive on the surface!).

With all of that in mind, I chose to dedicate a specific amount of time—usually about three weeks—to fully unplugging from my business. And sweet friend, I want you to experience this kind of time and space, too!

Over the years, I’ve found four steps that are key to creating space in your calendar for intentional time off.

1. HAVE A PLAN IN PLACE WELL BEFORE YOU START YOUR BREAK

First and foremost, you must plan for a sabbatical. Time off will not just magically happen; it requires thoughtful action to go smoothly. Personally, it takes a few weeks of prep and planning for my business to be ready to run without me. But trust me, all that time and effort is well worth it! With a well-thought-out plan in place, you’ll actually be able to rest during your time off, instead of stressing about all the things that aren’t getting done in your absence.

So here’s action step #1: pull out your calendar! Mark off the days or weeks you are going to take to rest. And then go backwards in time, setting aside a few weeks to prepare for that time off. Because I block off three weeks on my calendar for my sabbatical each year, I also need to block off a proportional amount of time for preparation, whether that means taking the time to automate tasks, hand them off to team members, or pause them entirely.

In order to ensure that no business, no work, and no professional goals sneak into your break, you must first have a comprehensive understanding of what you do day-to-day. Take a close look at what you spend your time on routinely, and begin to brainstorm ways to either pause, automate, or hand off these tasks during your sabbatical. This is a crucial step; if you skip this, you unintentionally leave the door open for work to take over those precious days off.

Personally, I like to have my sabbatical dates set at least 6 months in advance. This gives me a greater awareness throughout the year of my availability for client work. It also allows me to lay out timelines around those days off, setting proper expectations from the get-go.

2. BUILD STRONG BOUNDARIES

When you first start your break, you may be tempted to continue checking your inbox or social media each day. You might even try to squeeze in a few client meetings here and there.

But, friend, the point of a sabbatical is to take a break. If you want to feel refreshed and re-energized after your time off, then you need to find ways to temporarily break up with the things that drain your energy.

Do you need to cut all your social media use? Not necessarily! If you truly enjoy sharing IG stories or chatting in your DMs, then carry on! But do so intentionally—determine ahead of time which platforms you’ll stay on and what kinds of interactions you’ll allow. Anything that drains your energy? Feel the freedom to let it go. If you’re committing to taking time to rest, allow yourself to do so fully.

Earlier, I suggested finding ways to pause, automate, or hand off routine tasks. Now, let’s look at some specific examples:

• Let’s say answering emails is exhausting for you, but you feel obliged to always reply quickly. What can you do? Set a strong autoresponder that clearly communicates when you’re away and when you’ll be back. Turn off all email notifications. If possible, disconnect your work email from your phone. You could even go as far as putting your computer in a different room to physically remove the temptation.
• Let’s say you have a robust social media or blog calendar, and you don’t want to lose momentum on those platforms. What can you do? Batch create and schedule your posts before your break begins. Alternatively, delegate those tasks to a virtual assistant. Either way, you’ll maintain your online presence without having to personally hit publish at a specific time each day.

3. PROACTIVELY COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR CURRENT CLIENTS

Friend, I know what you must be thinking by now. “What the heck will my clients think if I take three whole weeks off of work?”

Let me use my experience to encourage you here! In all my years of taking an annual sabbatical, my clients have been nothing short of understanding, gracious, and kind. They understand that I’m a human as well as a business owner, and that I need (and deserve!) to rest. In fact, they respect me for taking the time I need to rest, reset, and serve them even better.

Just like with any relationship, communication with your clients is essential. To earn their trust and respect, you must set clear expectations them well in advance of your time off.

About a month before my sabbatical, I personally email each client I’m actively working with. I give them a quick heads up that, in X number of weeks, I’ll be out of the office and I’ll be back on X date. I check in on our project, map out the remaining steps and the order in which they should happen, as well as whether it can all realistically be done before I leave or if our timeline will need to be paused until I return. This gives them a clear idea of where our time and energy needs to be focused before I leave.

I also set expectations with my clients by including a section at the bottom of my email signature that outlines my upcoming out-of-office dates, as well as my daily office hours. This way, every email I send leaves my client with a clear record of when I will or won’t be in the office and, thus, when they can expect to hear from me.

4. SET EXPECTATIONS WITH ANY POTENTIAL CLIENTS

It’s common for business owners to fear that taking extended time off will cause their leads to disappear. So, friend, let’s take a sustainable approach to solving that problem!

Just like your current clients, potential leads need to know what to expect. You want people to feel free to reach out while you’re away, but you DON’T want them to feel ignored when you don’t respond for weeks.

There are several ways to let potential clients know that you’re on sabbatical, but you’re open to working together when you return. The best places to set these expectations are (1) on your website, (2) in an auto-response email, and (3) in your social media bios.

First, make it clear on your website when you will be out of the office. I like to display this in an announcement banner across the top of every page, so no matter where someone lands on my website, they know when they’ll hear from me again. Additionally, after a contact form is submitted, a message is displayed reiterating that I’m out-of-office until X date, and I’ll reply to all inquiries once I return.

All that said, some people may reach out without ever looking at your website—this is where email autoresponders come into play. By setting an autoresponder, you ensure that all messages will receive an immediate reply containing the details of your break and when they can expect to hear from you. Personally, I also include my upcoming availability for new projects, and I let them know how excited I am to chat with them when I return.

Finally, if you’re taking a break from social media, I encourage you to put your out-of-office dates in your bio. This way, anyone who lands on your page can clearly see when you’ll be back.

WHY MY ANNUAL SABBATICAL IS SO IMPORTANT

Taking time off from your biz requires a lot of thought and preparation. I put in a lot of hard work leading up to my annual sabbatical in order to ensure that I’m leaving each of my clients in a good place and that my business will continue to run like a well oiled machine while I’m away.

And while it certainly is a lot of work up front, it’s all so worth it. That extra bit of effort allows me to unplug fully for a glorious three weeks, to be fully present with my friends, my family, and myself. It allows me to rest, to reflect on all the year has held thus far, and to prepare for all that is to come. It gives me the space to refresh, re-energize, and re-enter the next season as an even better version of myself. Truly, every aspect of my business is impacted positively by this annual time off.

And I believe all of that is possible for you, too.

If you’re on the fence or feeling like this can’t possibly work for you, let me tell you this: in all the years I’ve been taking an annual sabbatical, I have never once regretted it. I know you won’t, either.

WILL YOU TAKE AN ANNUAL SABBATICAL?

Friend, I’d love to hear from you! Comment below and tell me whether you’re planning to take a sabbatical in the near future. If not, what’s holding you back?

As always, sweet friend, I’m cheering you on from Waco ❤️