Taking time off when you run or lead a business can feel like a guilty pleasure. It’s easy to believe that if you’re not constantly switched on, things might fall apart, or at the very least, slow down. But stepping away, especially during annual leave, often does something far more powerful: it clears the fog.
This time of year is when many leaders take their holidays. But it’s not just a break from emails and Zoom calls. It’s a valuable window to let your brain breathe. And with that breathing room comes space for better decisions, deeper thinking, and, ironically, sharper business clarity when you return.
Why rest reveals what pressure conceals
When you’re buried in the day-to-day, it’s difficult to see things objectively. Stress and urgency have a way of skewing your thinking, making small problems feel huge, and causing you to overlook what’s working well. Taking proper time off resets that.
Rest is where insights creep in quietly. Not through forced brainstorming, but when your brain is out walking, cooking, or reading something unrelated to business. Suddenly, patterns emerge. Priorities rearrange themselves. And the thing you’ve been overcomplicating? It finally makes sense.
Don’t let the internal noise take over
Here’s the irony. When the external world goes quiet—no client calls, fewer deadlines—that’s when the internal chatter ramps up. Doubt, distraction, guilt, urgency… it all gets louder. Many business leaders find it hard to actually rest, because their minds won’t let them.
But the quieter seasons in business aren’t empty, they’re reflective. Instead of filling the silence with busywork, it’s worth sitting with it. Notice what comes up. What’s bothering you? What’s exciting you? Those internal signals are usually more honest than the noise you get during a hectic quarter.
Use quiet for intention, not reaction
Annual leave isn’t just about recharging. It’s a chance to zoom out. What’s really going on in your business? Where are you spending energy out of habit rather than value? Instead of reacting to what the business demands of you, this is the time to reflect on what you actually want from it.
A short walk on a beach or a quiet evening with a book can stir questions you haven’t had time to ask: Am I working the way I want to work? Are the right people around me? Is this business still serving my life, or am I just serving the business?
When less input leads to better output
One of the biggest benefits of time off is information reduction. You’re not getting pinged with messages every hour or bombarded with minor fires to put out. That silence creates room for creative thought. When you come back, you may not have a long list of “new ideas,” but the clarity you bring will often improve everything you touch.
More importantly, you return with energy. Your team feels it. Your decision-making sharpens. That slight shift in posture, being more deliberate, less reactive, can set the tone for the second half of the year.
Business breakthroughs don’t always come from the boardroom
As a business coach, I’ve seen countless clients come back from a break and make some of their best decisions. It’s not because of what they did on holiday, but because of the mental reset. They remembered what matters. They realised what they could delegate. They saw the business more clearly.
If you’re due for some time off, don’t waste it by mentally staying at work. Use the break to mentally recalibrate. The space you give yourself now can pay off long after you’re back at your desk.
Let rest become a strategy, not a reward
Too many leaders treat rest like a reward they have to earn. But it’s more strategic than that. Your brain, your team, and your business all function better when you step back regularly and with intention.
So this summer, as you look at your diary and block out annual leave, remember it’s not just for rest. It’s a chance to think, breathe, and come back with the kind of perspective that only distance can give.
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