Knowing When to Disconnect

It might seem strange to you that a digital agency is advocating taking time away from our screens, but if there’s anyone that knows the importance of taking a break, it’s those who never take one!

If you’re a business owner working in an industry (like eCommerce) that never seems to sleep, you’ll know how difficult it is to switch off and step away from the emails and the never-ending to do list. There’s not a switch you can flick that will pause people shopping or browsing the web, and if there was, you would probably never make any money! Taking a break, however, can improve your productivity, morale and general wellbeing, which is why it’s essential we all take one.

Here are our top tips for knowing when to disconnect and learning to let go a little:

Take lunch.  Do you spend your lunch ‘break’ responding to emails?  Eat your breakfast at your desk? I think most of us are a little guilty of not taking a full break away from the office. If you don’t have a local café near you, just take a moment to switch everything off and ensure you don’t switch them back on until your break is over – oh and take that full hour!

No work-related calls after a certain time or when you’re at home. We get that sometimes this might be unavoidable if you’re dealing with international clients or customers, but it’s important to try and shut off and not take your work home with you.

Hire a team that supports you. If you’re really struggling to find the time to fit everything in, perhaps you need to expand your team? You might also need to learn to let go of some control by spreading the workload out amongst your team – learn to pass the baton, if you will.

Seek external support. We recently announced that we would be offering 24/7 technical support for our BigCommerce clients through a partnership with Matter Design. This service enables our clients to rest easy, knowing that their website will be in the hands of experts 24 hours a day. This is where hiring a digital agency will help you to disconnect from work, leaving the experts to handle the business during your downtime.

Take a moment to assess how you work and whether it’s time to make some changes. Being overworked isn’t going to help anyone so make sure you take your breaks when needed and start learning how to shut off and let go. If you’re looking for a digital agency to offer you support with anything from emergency website updates to handling digital marketing campaigns, contact us here.