In accounting and business in general, we often live in our calendars; if it’s not scheduled, it doesn’t get done, right? Yet we don’t take advantage or schedule enough time for ourselves. This is why I’m saying that your next Out of Office block should be for yourself.
For too many years I’ve heard overwhelmed accounting professionals exasperated by meetings that “pop onto their calendars” and how even when they put those three seemingly powerful vowels together, Out of Office is rarely observed. Well, I am telling you here and now you have the power to give it more meaning and actually take that time for You.
And trust me, I know many of you are always on the up-and-up about any time you take, and that Out of Office to you is just that. Maybe some of you even put it up in an attempt to take time for yourself, but you’re still answering emails or even calls. Perhaps even a few of you block it off but forget to indicate ‘busy’ instead of it being ‘free’ in your Calendar, which of course allows meetings to be made, even if you say Out of Office. If that’s you, stop it!
Taking time for yourself and meaning it, even during a workday, is not a crime. If anything, the greater infraction is that you don’t or don’t consistently honor that space you blocked on your calendar. Does this mean you literally have to be out? No, but of course if that is possible and it does keep you in the right headspace and not answering calls or emails, then by all means.
The point is making Out of Office actually work for you, and not just a suggestion or hope. Taking an hour or two, or whatever time you deem manageable, that is literally just for you: meditation, a walk, a meal, or just not engaging with anyone, can make all the difference in the world.
Add it all up over a month or year (or ‘busy season’), and I would almost guarantee having that time that’s only for you will make the time that’s for everyone else more meaningful, even productive. Don’t you owe it to yourself to give time to you?