When you hold an essential position in a company, it’s hard to take breaks. People rely on you to make big and sometimes time-sensitive decisions. You decide the fate of the company and everyone who works for it; it’s a huge load to carry, and sometimes it makes you feel like you don’t deserve to have the weekends off.
When you work seven days a week, however, certain things suffer.
Your Focus
Our bodies are not designed to keep focused without rest. Most offices follow a five-day work week, with a few already switching to four-day work weeks, giving employees two days to rest before they go back to work. When you sacrifice your days off, you’re not exactly getting more things done. You might find it harder to concentrate, and you’re more prone to human error because you’re pushing yourself to the limit.
Rather than spending all your days in the office, consider offloading tasks to experts who can do them more efficiently while you rest. For example, you can outsource SEO or SEM to a local company who will keep your properties in good shape even as you take some much-needed break.
Your Personal Relationships
It’s hard to make time for your family, friends, and significant other if you’re not available on weekends. They might be busy during the work week too, and they expect to spend some quality time with you on a Saturday to relax and hang out. The time you spend in the office could be spent with them, which is an excellent way to release stress. Humans are social creatures, and we crave attention from those we value. Some time with your significant other can lower your levels of stress, but you’re not getting this benefit of a relationship when you’re stuck in the office feeling more stressed instead.
Instead of having a relationship with your work, take care of your relationships, and invest time in them. Stay in and have a homecooked meal, or do something fun together. You’ll come back to the office more prepared to tackle the week ahead after you’ve had some R&R.
Your Health
Going to work per se does not make you sick, but while at work, the decisions you have to make and the people you have to deal with can stress you out. Your body responds to stress by releasing certain hormones, which trigger elevated heart rate and other physical changes. You’re also more prone to eating unhealthy food, which can be delivered to the office quickly, and this can result in weight gain and other more severe health conditions. None of these happen in one weekend, though. You might feel healthy right now, but if you continue this seven-day work week, you’re headed down a dark road you might not come back from.
Take some time off to exercise to offset the junk food you eat. Exercise is also a great way to manage stress levels.
Success should not mean living just to work. Let yourself rest so that you can enjoy the hard work you’ve put into your company for a long time.
