How do you celebrate Labor Day? Do you take the day off, work hard to get ahead of the curve, go to a cookout with friends and family, or take a bubble bath? Before I ran my own business I would say Labor Day was a bonus day to rest, relax, go to a cookout or get some organizational things done. Now that I have my own business I am more inclined to use it as a day to play catch up some projects or to plan out the last leg of the year. Holidays seem like bonus workdays. Working on day where no else is working provides fewer distractions and no phone calls to interrupt progress. By the end of the day I feel relieved that some things are off my desk and more able to tackle the rest of the week. The more organized I am the better I can handle my week as it is filled with work, children, making dinner and doing the laundry. There were many times before my business I used days like this to clean or organize or plan the school year for my kids. So you see, for me an extra day to work is not stressful but relieving.
What is it for you? Does it help you become more productive or increase your rate of burn out? I can find working on holidays (other than major ones like Christmas and Thanksgiving) a relief because I it allows me to focus on one thing as opposed to most days where I have to focus on business, being a wife, a mom, and a freelance writer. In addition, I only work a half day and most of that is alone. As a homeschooling mom to four I am rarely alone so any activity performed alone becomes a break. My perspective may be different than your perspective.
If you work hard all week long on our business and rarely indulge a day off then at least take holidays off. I encourage you to take some time to relax. The last thing you need is to head into a burn out. Burn out is not afforded to the small business owner. A new business or small business needs to be on target and full on to succeed in this competitive world. You can take it slow, you can go full speed ahead, but burn out will stop you in your tracks. Take some time to remember why you work so hard and spend a day with your family and friends.