I’ve been running my own business for 3 years now and am finding it so hard to stop thinking about work. It’s great to be your own boss but it is also very demanding, you really need to take time out and remember to be ‘you’. Also, being an online business makes it so easy to check for orders, enquiries, emails etc everywhere - where there is a computer connected to the internet there is an opportunity for me to work. Now, with the availability of internet mobiles, your day could possibly never end but is it really productive? I have actually found that I work so much better and more efficiently if I have had some complete time out. Even if it’s for just an hour, say during lunch or an hour in the morning after you’ve checked your emails etc, to do something else, something thing not work related. Get outside, go for a walk, do a yoga class, have coffee with a friend, wander around your local shops, do some gardening anything you ‘enjoy’ doing (so no not housework) and gets you away from work and the worries it can bring you.

I did this today and it totally refreshed my thoughts and remotivated me. I was able to get back to the office and be productive, it made me realise how much time this week I had spent being unproductive and uninspired. Thinking I was actually helping my business by working from the moment my first coffee’s made until well after ‘big dog’s’ gone to bed (it’s a country thing!) when it was just the opposite. I couldn’t focus properly - this fabulous article pretty much sums up the ‘how to switch off‘ dilemma we small business owners have.