11/ 30/ 2007
by Emma Johnson
Take a break to boost your business
The American work ethic dictates that if you work hard, you will succeed. But experts are increasingly encouraging workers to step outside their offices and take a break. Doing so not only recharges your batteries, it also invigorates business, says Neil Fiore, a psychologist and author of The Now Habit: Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play (Putnam, 2007).
"Our culture promotes a need to struggle and try harder," Fiore says. "But if you have your nose to the grindstone every day, you can't see the big picture."
Fiore says you need to hire the right people and train them to take care of your business so you can take a step back to go to conferences, read, consult with experts, travel or even just clear your head on the golf course. Time away allows your brain to fly above the details so you can see larger objectives and challenges.
"Even a few hours at the gym in the morning can give you time to relax, daydream and come up with creative solutions you just can't discover if you're always working," he says.
Erik Kaiser understands this principle. The owner of Hoboken, N.J.-based Remi Companies, a real-estate development firm, graduated from college in 1992 and worked seven days a week to build his enterprise.
A decade later, he started spending long weekends at a beach house he rented alone. That's when he first learned the personal and professional benefits of time off. "To sit on the couch with no cell phone access and let my mind wander was totally new to me," Kaiser says, "and I started to envision things again."
His creative juices really started to flow, and he laid plans to start three of the five businesses that make up Remi today.
"When you're running the rat race, you're not as productive," he says. "To be able to unwind creates confidence and energy, which is critical for running a business. If I had not had that epiphany on the beach, my business would not be where it is today."
In fact, business has been so good that Kaiser traded his beach getaway for a more serious respite. He bought a 120-year-old cabin in the Catskills Mountains in upstate New York where he spends weekends snowmobiling, relaxing and, of course, thinking about the next big move for his business.
Oh, the Places You'll Go!
You don't have to buy a beach house to get away from your work. Consider these low-cost destinations to help you (and your employees) take a time out and start thinking about your business in a new way:
Park, zoo, library, farmers' market, in your car, on a drive through the country, coffee shop, sporting event, concert, gym, movie theater, museum, bowling alley, lake, hiking trail, your kids' playhouse, golf course, pool hall, skating rink, playing paintball, riding go-carts
