There were many things my father taught me back in a day.  One lesson that stuck with me was, “When (notice: not ‘if’) you fall, grab something, anything, on your way up.”

Recently, I attempted to take some time off in a lazy way by making it a ‘staycation.’

The description of “staycation gone wrong” may be a little exaggerated.  In hindsight, it was not as terrible as it seemed at the time, but the experience was not great.  This was one of those moments where my father’s advice seemed quite fitting.

In this post, you will see 3 simple sections: Before, during, and after.

If you consider yourself a “recovering workaholic entrepreneur,” this post can help you plan your time-off effectively, mainly by not doing the things I have done.  So, read on!

The Back Story

Despite my skillful mindset practice involving meditation, continuous education, and other energy preserving strategies, I was burned out.

The reason was obvious.  I had not taken a vacation since late 2015.

Unfortunately, this is pretty normal for entrepreneurs like myself.

Because we can't rely on paid vacations or time-off like regular employees, we end up burning out.  The most challenging part of this predicament is giving ourselves permission to take time off. Sounds simple, but it’s a hurdle that is extremely hard for some (myself included) to jump over.

This process could be made easier if we could just ask someone else to give us an OK.  In some cases, family intervention plays a role in this type of situation (if you are lucky).