Tune into this week’s episode where Richard talks about how hard it can be to switch off from your business, and how you can switch it up instead.

We’re now at the end of the first quarter, and at this time it’s important as business owners that we take a break to celebrate all the targets and goals you have achieved so far this year. At the end of each quarter I like to take a break to reflect on my success so far so that I can process what I need to change or re-shift in order to readjust for the next 90 days.

So how do you take a break and reflect? Like me, you’ll find that as business owners you’re mind is constantly on, and you might find that it can be hard to switch off when you go on a break away from your business. But what if you used your break to switch up your business processes? So that when you get back you actually do feel refreshed and your whole business feels recharged.

This week I want to share with you the 5-step re-strategy process I use at the end of every quarter when I take a break. Watch the video and try it out this quarter to see how you go.

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Video Transcription

Welcome back to Quick Wins with Com. I’m Rich Toutounji and I’m in Palm Cove finishing up a short break. I’m filming this on my iPhone because I really didn’t plan to film and episode on my break. However, what do we do as business owners? We can’t stop it. We can’t turn off the mind, can we?

I wanted to do a video all about how to switch off to switch back on. But I thought that wasn’t really appropriate because I don’t think I actually switched off and then I don’t think I’ve switched off ever in any time that I’ve been away on a short or long break. I wanted to put a process together that I’ve been working on the last few years every time I got away, and shared that with business owners because I believe that once we can have a process and once we realised that, you know we actually have adjusted and we’ve adjusted our process and our thinking and we do come back fresher. It might not be the way that traditional people have a holiday. So let me share with you five re-strategies that I do every time I have a break to make sure when I come back, I’m much more re-charged ready to go.

So here goes.

Number one is first of all, Re-Lax. The reason why we get away is because we want to relax. We really do want to relax. We want to switch off. We want to lay by the pool. We want to lay on the beach. We want to do activities. We want to go with our family, actually do want to relax. However, in this relaxation process, some will be able to switch off more than others. Some will be able to say, I’m gonna to switch off. Phones off. Emails off. And I’m good. And I’m not gonna think about work at all. I’m not gonna think about business at all. However, with technology today, the way it is, the communication process; I really don’t think that is as unique as it was before. Sometimes we may have the opportunity to totally switch off. I want to go on a meditation retreat and leave your phone. However, that’s not always the case. So stop working in your business and maybe use the time to work on your business.

When you do that, what’s happening in the second part of that is it’s Re-Shifting. So instead of saying I have to stop, talk about how you can re-shift over your break. Now, when you re-shift over your break, you’re re-shifting the activities and the exercises that you’re doing day-to-day. So let me give you an example. If I’m calling … let’s say I’m doing a lot of sales calls, if I’m doing the sales calls, you’re not gonna do the sales calls but you might work on a process to make the sales calls more efficient, more stream-lined; that might be working on your business. When you re-shift a business, what I love to do is to go deep into a total different topic. How I do this, I’ll watch videos, I’ll watch videos that I’ve been putting off for watching. I’ll have actually different conversations. I’ll be on my phone in the pool, and I’ll just call out people that I’ve haven’t spoken to for ages. But I know there has been some synergy that I’ve wanted to achieve in that process there. So it’s understanding how you can re-shift and do different things to keep your mind moving but on a different aspect that way.

Now, when you re-shift, automatically what’s gonna happen, you’re gonna Re-Focus. You’re gonna re-focus the energy that you’ve been doing day-to-day. So you’re being back at work and you’ve been nutting out these sales calls every day and you’re getting frustrated or you’re getting achievement, whatever it may be. What you want to do is re-focus the energy into going deep into that video you might be watching. Going deep into the conversation you’re having. Going deep in totally something else. Going deeper in your thinking pattern. You see, as entrepreneurs and business owners, we get paid to solve problems most importantly. If we solve more problems to more people, that’s how we can create a really successful business. So it’s re-focus and trying maybe find a problem you can solve; maybe something you’ve haven’t had time in your business and put your focus there. Again, do work in the business, work on the business in this time.

Once you do the re-focus, what’s automatically gonna happen, is you’re going to Re-Adjust. You’re gonna re-adjust your thinking. Instead of having this problem at work that you had, that’s gonna eliminate, disappear because your focus has gone deeper in another topic. Your focus has gone deep on considering something you haven’t even considered. Your focus is gone deep in making sure that what ever you were checking on your holidays or having that conversation, is your mind’s taking over that instead. So what’s automatically happened, this relaxation stage has gone from the relax, the re-shift, the re-focus into the whole re-adjustment stage. And the re-adjustment stage is then, you’re starting to consider and you might come to an end of your holiday and you might be considering these processes that I’ve thought about might have some legs. But in the re-adjustment stage don’t stress because some things will not have legs. Some things will not just work. Some things will be just a waste of your time. But what it’s gonna be doing, it’s definitely gonna re-shift everything when you come back.

And then come back and Re-Plan and re-strategize what you’re gonna be doing in the long term. And this way and as in business owners happen, we don’t have to feel so guilty by having to say, I can’t switch off. Just switch off from the day-to-day and re-shift onto new opportunities and new things.

Whenever I’ve done this over the past few years, I’ve found that when I come back, I’ve definitely adjusted the mechanisms and how we do the business. The most important thing, a bit of a tip I’d like to give you is that, when you’re actually going through the process of the re-adjusting, the re-focus; reach out and actually action something. Action something that you think has legs. It could be a phone call, it could be a meeting or a request for the next week. I just did this week, I said I want a new strategy, a new process. I reached out to my team, yeah maybe I should have switched off but I reached out. I organised for when I get back. I know I’m going to be very clear and very precise in the meeting. It’s not just a meeting for normal business, a meeting to actually re-adjust our entire process. And I’ve found that I’ve done that just by the re-shifting process.

I hope that’s helped. So next time you’re on holidays, you’re having a short break away, don’t stress so much. Just have a process and make sure that process flows all the way through. When you come back, your business is gonna be way more fluid. You’re gonna be way more motivated and you have different strategies to move your head in the uncertain times of business. Thanks so much. I’ll see you next time on Quick Wins with Com.

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