As a startup owner, you probably spend many hours thinking about the next steps to grow your business, be more effective and new opportunities.What you also need to bear in mind is the impact of excessive work-hours and all this thinking. And if not well managed, it can backfire your development, by impacting your productivity and decision-making.Startup founders are not immune to burnout and other mental health risks. So, to help founders have the well deserved worry-free vacations, here are a few steps to set everything up and relax!
This is obvious, isn’t it? Start by making a list of things you have to do in the period you’ll be out of touch.More specifically, take the time to prepare and automate as much of simple tasks as you can. Social media posts, bills to pay, e-mail marketing, etc.This will allow your employees more time to work on important things.
The first thing is setting your team to achieve the goals you guys established. So, have a SMART goal template, like this one we use in MyCTOfriend. A Roadmap for individuals and teams to share their work and progress is excellent too!This way, your employees have the north and method to run the activities and projects. And you have a great tool to check on their progress when you are back!
Ensure your employees have everything they need to move on with daily tasks during your absence.Your team has the skills, the knowledge, the tools, and the autonomy to pass a few weeks managing itself. After all, they are professionals and should be respected as such.Think about agile methodologies to make teamwork more efficient, accelerate projects and problem-solving, like Scrum or even SMART, which we suggested in the previous topic.If you want to know how it works, here’s a video explaining how you can use the agile scrum in development and to-do list.
To be true to your worry-free vacations, have one person be in charge of overviewing everything and be the most accountable in any situation, for both colleagues and customers.It’s not a full power of decisions, but someone who can support others due to his or her knowledge, seniority status and leadership capacity.Any questions and difficulties should be addressed to that person first. It’s the go-to team member!In addition, you could establish who should call you in emergencies or set an e-mail keyword, in case you’ll keep checking them.
As a founder, you want to help your employees unlock their potential and give them the opportunity to grow. It can be done by simple steps like taking over a routine task during your absence.It’s also a great way to show your team you trust them! Give the coordinates and they will show their potential - and eventually, their flaws.
Does anyone knows or have access to what you’re working on a daily basis? So, it’s time they do.
Keeping the information accessible to everyone who concerns, preferably in documents they all can work on and update, cooperation tools for projects and so on.
But transparency is also about communication. Make your demands and needs clear, about what has to be done, how it has to be done and who is responsible.
This way your employees will have the opportunity to learn by doing tasks not common to them and maybe even come up with ideas to improve a process.
It’s is key to ensure a smooth operation and have real worry-free vacations!
Makes a startup founder stressed and unproductive.Several studies state the benefits of time off for both brain and body. Even during the workdays, it’s advisable to disconnect from work to be on top of your game on the next day.You, as a founder, owe that to your customers, employees and, above all, to yourself!After some rest, you’ll feel more creative, clear thinking, productive, focused on the bigger picture instead of small day-to-day issues.Needless to say that if the company culture is about health and well-being, founders should give an example and start by taking care of themselves and show they understand the importance of balance.
Common excuses for not taking a break from work go from no money and no time to the insecurity of leaving the business and guilty.No matter how hard it is, or if your startup is in early-stage, you can always find some time to recover yourself from all the hard work building your dream requires.Try these, to start:Take a three-day weekend and see how it goes;Planning a week away every three months;Set your team goals for the quarter, then take a short break.But the important thing is to remember that taking some time off and vacations are crucial if you want to be successful!And what you do to prepare your teal for your worry-free vacations? Share with us in the comments! Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter for more tips and advice about startup and tech management!
