Welcome to the Masterful Coach Podcast with Molly Claire, where coaches learn skill mastery, business mastery, and life mastery at a whole new level. If you are serious about creating a meaningful coaching business that makes a difference, you are in the right place. And now your host, master life and business coach, Molly Claire.

Hey coach, I hope you enjoy this week's episode. As much as I enjoyed creating it for you, I hope it really helps you to create more balance in your life, and I can't wait to share it with you. Really quick announcement, the 10K Accelerator for coaches is open for enrollment. We will be diving in in February, helping you to dial in your message and really help you set that goal to bring in your first, or next, 10 K as a coach.

If you would rather coach and teach any day of the week over doing sales and marketing, this course is perfect for you. Go to mollyclaire.com. Make sure you don't miss out on this next group. All right, here we go. Enjoy this week's episode.

Hey, coach, how about an entire episode dedicated to how to take a break and really how to take a break well from your business? That is what this episode is about. It's an important episode because you're probably a go-getter, highly ambitious, really trying to create a pretty big thing in your life and your business, and it's just too easy for us to have too much on our schedules, too much packed into our day and to have the expectations on ourselves to be far too much for any human being to accomplish.

Now listen, I am all about intense work sessions. I am all about high focus. I am definitely a person who does not like to sit still. And I will tell you from my experience, not only in building my own business, but in working with coaches, that it can be very easy to have your life and business get out of balance.

And I'm bringing you this episode after coming off of three weeks completely away from my business, which if you would've told me that I would've done this a couple of years ago, I would've said you were crazy. And to be honest, going into it, I wasn't sure how well I was going to do at taking that break from my business. But I've done it and I wanna talk with you about some of the things that I did that have made it very successful, that have made reentry into my business successful, and also some of the takeaways that I have been able to get and that I know you'll be able to ge if you can really create a practice of taking a break from the intensity of your business or your life.

And while this episode is definitely focused on steps you can take to get the most out of time away from your business, I want to offer you that you can apply this to anywhere you need to apply it in your life. If you are feeling burned out, worn out, spread thin, take note of this because taking care of you and your wellbeing is, it's just such a big deal. And I think as women we can run ourselves ragged.

I think too many of us, and I know that you see this in many of your clients as well, too many of us, we put so much of our belief about our worth into how much we succeed, how much we do, how much we accomplish, what we have to show for our life. And I think that we know this better than most, as coaches. And yet we still fall into it. We know that our worth and the goodness that is in us and our purpose and our mission and what is important about us is not simply seen or validated in what we do. And so I hope you'll remember that.

I hope that you remember that as you accomplish things in your life and your business, the amazing thing about that is not whatever money or success or tangible thing that you create, but it truly is because as you do that, as you do it well and in a healthy way, more of who you are is coming out into the world. You are becoming. And no matter what you do or don't do, you are totally worthy, totally lovable, and totally amazing. Alright, let's talk about how to take a break.

So, as I mentioned, I took a break for three weeks from my business and this was something that I planned to do at the very beginning of the year, actually last spring. I have this huge calendar on my wall. It's about four feet by six feet and it has all the months, and I filled it out this last year with all of the times I was going to take time away. And I practiced little by little during the year, and I set out to take three weeks off over the holiday period.

This is not something that's ever really come easily to me, and especially when I first started my business and I was so focused on having time and freedom and availability for my kids and being able to make money. I found myself having time with my kids during the day, and oftentimes I would sit at my computer at night, which isn't a bad thing, right? But I was very determined and focused on my mission and extremely committed and consistent over time. This definitely, I would say, at times it felt almost a little bit addictive to me because it felt like something that had to be done to satisfy this sense of, "I'm okay, I'm moving toward this goal." and so, these are the things that we just, we wanna be aware of. Right?

So, fast forward to this last year. I've really committed that I am going to have more space in my life. My husband and I, we have eight kids between the two of us, and we have only been married not even four years. And I gotta tell you, it's been a big challenge. We've had a lot of things going on, a lot of moving parts in our family - and it's a lot - and business and so many things. And I really got to a place last year that I realized I've gotta really take some drastic steps to give myself some space. I work hard to have balance and I work hard to set limits and to be there for everyone, and it's very easy for me to slip into overextending myself.

So, having said that, I had these three weeks on the calendar and I decided that I would make it happen. I planned accordingly and I committed that no matter what came up, I wouldn't go back on this commitment. And so these three words you've just heard me say, this is the first step for you.

Decide specifically what time you are going to take off. Is it you planning about when you will cut it off at the end of the day? Is it ensuring you have a full weekend? Is it a week here, a week there, or is it an extended period of time? I don't care how much time you take off or when you take it off, but I ask you to look at your calendar and make a decision.

Plan is the next part of this. Once you have it on your calendar set your brain in a place of planning around it. Planning ahead, thinking about what comes before that period of time, what comes after, what things need to be considered. And to be honest, part of the planning process for me, and for you as well, will just be looking at that space on your calendar, having it written down and knowing that it's there and thinking about safeguarding that space and time.

And the last word in this first step is really, if you follow me on social media or on my email list, you probably saw that I wrote several things about this, and part of the purpose in that for me was hopefully to set an example for all of you and offer you this idea that you could have space. And by the way, it absolutely thrilled me to hear so many of my clients in the Masterful Coach Collective and in my small group saying, "You know what? The holidays haven't been that stressful. I've really made space for myself."

And so of course that is part of the reason behind it, and also part of it was self-serving because I knew that if I spoke to you and said, "Hey, I'm taking this time off. As I'm writing this email, it is two weeks ahead of time because I am taking this time off and I will do it." So do whatever it takes for you to commit to safeguarding that time.

The next step that will make a huge difference for you goes right along with this element of planning, which is really just prepare a list and check it off. Prepare a list of what you need to have done to make sure that you have no worries during the time that you're off, and prepare that list in anticipation of reentry into your business. So what this meant for me was looking two weeks ahead, I knew once I came back on January 9th, I wanted to have all of my content, all my podcasts, all my emails for the next two weeks written. I wanted to have that in place.

When you can prepare and check those things off, not only for the time that you're gone, but for the time when you return, it will allow you to actually relax and take the time that you need, and you will feel so much better upon reentry. How many of you guys can relate to going away, going on vacation and coming back and wondering, "Was it even worth it to be away? I have this pile of stuff. I'm overwhelmed. It's not a good feeling." But you truly can anticipate that reentry by planning ahead and even welcoming yourself back, which I'm gonna talk about in just a minute.

The next step is really being intentional about the time off and how you will support yourself in that intention. Now, what I mean by being intentional is, I don't know for you, what it is you would need in time away from your business or your life. I know what I need, but I don't know what you need. I know that you know, and so whatever it is that you need, whether it's simply the space to not have any plans and just to do whatever you feel like doing, or whether it's more of a deep reflective period or something else entirely, think about what you need to reset yourself and rejuvenate you and rebalance your life. And be intentional about it.

And then in supporting yourself, think about what might get in the way of that. I've already talked about a few of these things with regard to preparing, right? If you are prepared and everything is handled for the time that you're gone, handled for those weeks that you get back, that can actually allow you to more easily relax.

I know for me, I had to anticipate a little bit that it would be challenging for me when I got up early in the morning to not go to my desk because that is, that's where I go. It's a really positive experience for me in the morning because I get up early. I'm extremely focused, I have a lot of good ideas and I love to get to work.

And so even though it's something I enjoy, I made a decision to take space from it. And I'll be honest, I had some angst like I would not be able to do this. But I will tell you that by being intentional and making that decision, and even thinking ahead of time about what that would be like, I was amazed at how easy it was, and I really enjoyed that experience. So, be intentional. Think about what you need out of that time, and use that brilliant coach brain, that problem solving brain to anticipate what will get in your way and solve for it. Have a solution.

The next step, welcome yourself back with organization and space. When I came back to my desk, I had a lovely welcome letter from myself. Do you ever do this for yourself? I highly recommend you do this if nothing else. This is a great takeaway for you. And I have continued to do this for myself since coming back and this welcome letter looks something like, "Welcome back. I hope you had an amazing break. Now, I know you're nervous about getting back in the swing of things, but don't worry. Everything is ready and organized for you."

And the letter went on to highlight all the things that were in place. It highlighted some reminders to get my brain up to speed on things. I had a place where I had outlines for the classes that I needed to do that week. Such an amazing gift that I was able to give my future self before taking that time. So if you have ever struggled with re-entry and getting back up to speed and feeling behind on things, make sure to welcome yourself back, write yourself a letter, organize things for yourself, and give yourself that space for reentry.

A few weeks ago I did a podcast about giving yourself space to adjust in times of change, and the same thing applies here. Because inevitably, when you've been away from business or your life or whatever it is, and you come back, there is an element of getting back in the swing of things, right? Getting your brain up to speed and moving back into the rhythm that you're used to.

And I, over the years of really trying to find this balance with life and business and personal and kids and all the things I have really discovered, there's so much value in having an extremely light week when you come back. And I don't know how many of you can relate to this, but it used to be that I would cram to get everything done before I left, and then I would have things piled up thinking, "Oh, I'll get to it then." And I would come back and I would be totally overwhelmed. And so make sure to give yourself as a little as possible for that first period of reentry. You will thank yourself and it will make the break so worth.

The last step I want to offer you is plan a time to download your takeaways from the break after you have come back to it. So let's say you're gone for a week. Take the time a week after your return, or even two weeks after, to really think about not only what you gained from the time away, but what you noticed coming back, in contrast. Meaning, "When I was away, this is what I was feeling. This is where my brain was able to go, and now coming back, this is what I'm experiencing here."

For me, this contrast has been the space to be away from the business has meant I've been able to see very clearly some of the places where I was stuck or challenged, what the solution is. I'm able to see very easily the things that need to be simplified in my business that I really wasn't able to see when I was just in the middle of it.

One of my favorite stories that I definitely think can apply here is the story of the Elephant and the Six Blind Men, if you've ever heard this. So this is a great story, and especially for us as coaches, this is so much of the work we do with our clients. And the story goes that six blind men were each taken to an elephant and given a different part of the elephant to touch.

So you can imagine the one touching the tusk will have a different experience than the one touching the tail or the leg or the trunk. And so after these men have touched the elephant, they're asked to describe what an elephant is like. And so all of these men having drastically different perspectives and experiences.

An elephant feels like a tree or an elephant feels like a rope. It was very confusing to them. Are these other people lying? How do they not see? How do they not know? And yet we know so clearly, right? Because we have that broader perspective where we can back up from the elephant, back up from our business and see all the moving parts so much better with that perspective than when we only have one singular perspective or experience.

So when you come back from taking a break, allow yourself the time after you've gotten back in the swing of things to take the time to see the contrast and to learn the things you couldn't learn when you were in it.

Thank you so much for letting me share all of this with you. It was such a gift to have this time off, and I hope that some of you also took a little bit of extra time off, and I hope you're able to take this into your life today and give yourself the space that you need to rejuvenate.

That's what I've got for you, coach. I'll talk with you next week.

Thanks for listening to the Masterful Coach Podcast. If you're ready for complete support as you build your coaching business, check out Molly's collaborative community, the Masterful Coach Collective. It's a place where you'll have access to the best experts in the biz, community support, and guidance as you build your perfect business 90 days at a time. Visit www.mollyclaire.com for details.