This March I was coming back from a trip to New Zealand visiting family.
I had three days in Auckland before coming back to Sydney, so booked an Air Bnb and set up what I’d call a “work retreat.”
“Retreat” means backing away from – or taking a step back from something – often to focus on something else.
Here we’re taking a step back from daily routine, distraction and doubt, and taking a step forward in your business.
The work retreat I set up was 2.5 days, solo, uninterrupted, to work on the business. The goal is to cut out the daily tasks (emails, delivery, social media) and focus on the work that matters.
I’ve done a lot of retreats before, including other business retreats, but nothing that looked like this. Halfway through, I realised how helpful it was (I was able to map out most of the work for this year!), so I thought I’d share the structure.
While my work retreat was solo, you could also do this with other business owners (probably preferable). Here’s the structure:
Decide what it’s for. What’s the purpose of this time? What would you like to walk away with? How do you want to feel when you walk away?
Solo or with friends. If you partner up, make sure the first point is clear with them.
Location. I had a little place that looked over the harbour. I don’t think it needs to be anything crazy, but it should be quiet, and you want to have some wider views to mix up the perspective a little.
Set up the structure. Structure supports energy. How you set this up matters, because it’s a lot of time, but also could be completely wasted. I like to work in two hour blocks.* So I set up 3 x two hour blocks over the day, which is 6 hours. An hour break in between each, starting at 8 and finishing at 4. This doesn’t sound like much, but when you are 100% focused it’s plenty.
You’ll want to pre-decide on a structure that you think will work for you (ahead of time), but be aware of trying to overdo things – it can often send you backwards. Generally there aren’t prizes for being on a screen or notebook for more time than everyone else.
Food. In any retreat, organising the food is a big deal. There’s time to cook, but you don’t want to have big, “heady” meals that take a lot of energy. Especially if you’re solo – you want minimal dishes.
Other. Personally, I don’t recommend a huge amount of exercise or training. I keep it light because your energy and intent is focused towards your work. The goal isn’t to drain your system and need a bunch of time to recover after the retreat, the goal is good energy and making sure you work on the main thing.
Document it. What worked? What didn’t work? You’ll probably want to do this again sometime, so figure out where the gaps were and how you can address them next time.
This was a specific event, but these six points really can be applied to any timeframe. You could set up a work retreat at home, on a weekend, or with friends at a library each week.
Have you ever tried a work retreat? How did you find it? I’d love to hear what you think.
*The two hour blocks are how I like to work each day. When a “block” starts, phone is off and there’s a clear desired outcome – what am I trying to get out of this?
