I’ve just finished my third (yes, No. 3) midlife crisis! I spent 30 days in Europe last month—10 days in Italy and 20 days in Greece! It has always been a dream of mine to not to be just another typical tourist—I wanted to spend three or four days in one location, getting to know each city, its people, how they lived and worked from day to day.
I was also at a point in my life and in my business where burn out was becoming a real issue with me. Yeah, I could have gone to Montana and rented a cabin in the mountains, or a beach house by the sea! But I wanted to immerse myself in a totally different culture and see where that took me.
I’m truly blessed that I was able to take 30 days and reflect on my business, the last one-third of my life, my marriage, my family and friends. There was a lot of pre-planning that went into this decision. Jenna Lindseth, my right (and left) hand held everything together while I way away and for that, I’ll be forever grateful.
What did I learn after 30 days in Europe? Three things:
1) How to simplify—I packed one, medium sized suitcase for 30 days and still had room to bring stuff back. I set up remote access to my office computer. Set up my phone and e-mail to access from overseas. Automated my bill paying. Oh, and of course this all costs some big bucks so I implemented a savings plan and modified my spending habits (like buying more shoes), which, in the circle of life, ended up simplifying my life. Instead of spending time shopping, I was figuring out ways to save money.
2) How to prioritize—Instead of trying to do everything the time away helped me determine what was important in my business and reflect on the little things that made me crazy from day to day. Before I left, I created marketing campaigns; wrote my Facebook posts and tweets in advance; and recorded five videos! That helped me focus on the big picture: to pick and choose what was relevant and important; to figure out the best use of my time; what tasks I did from day to day will make me money, and which ones should be assigned to someone else.
The time away helped me prioritize the time I need to spend with my husband, children, family and friends and which people waste my time or suck the life out of me.
3) How to enjoy every minute of every day—I rented a villa on the beach in Sardinia. I rented a penthouse suite near the Vatican in Rome. And rented a cliffside retreat in Santorini, Greece. In Sardinia, the hot water ran out after one shower. In Rome and Greece, the hot water heaters literally stopped working. I wrecked a rental car by backing into the side of a mountain.
Internet access was pretty bad. There were some rude people. I got lost a couple of time. But instead of getting upset, I made the conscious decision to enjoy the experiences and get rid of the little devil called negativity.
I realize that it’s not easy to get away for 30 days. It was a difficult decision. How could the business possibly survive if I was not in my office, in front of my computer, available for all phone calls? What would my husband think? (Out of the 30 days, he spent only six days with me.) With the help of an awesome assistant and a lot of pre-planning, I can tell you that not only did the business survive, but also I made some decent coin while away.
If you decide to get away for some “me-time," I’d be happy to share with you exactly what I did to help you avoid some of the mistakes I made along the way.
Karen Deis is the publisher of
