Reply To: Have you managed to detach yourself?

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Running a “big business” isn’t quite so all-encompassing as a smaller one – simply because there are more people to fall back on; whether big or small, the key is delegation and, more importantly, having faith in the people you give tasks to.

As a small business owner, I used to find it difficult to *really* trust the people I was working with – particularly if they were carrying out tasks that I’d designed or were things that I was particularly skilled in (the need to delegate tasks sometimes means letting someone else do something you might think you’re “better at” than them). I’d check up on things to make sure they were “up to my standard”. It never did me any good.

Getting away from the job is important. It’s not easy.

Find someone to “be you” for a few days and take some time out. Really take time out. Like go camping or hiking or take the kids to an adventure park or something that means you can’t check your emails/messages every few minutes (I can strongly recommend canal boating). Even if for just a couple of days.

When you get back, genuinely ask yourself if the work done in your absence is good enough. Not “is it up to my standards?” but “is anyone likely to complain that this isn’t up to scratch?”. Once you have faith in your colleagues to fill in for you, take time out. Regularly. Encourage your colleagues to do the same.