#110 How To Take Vacation From Your Community Leader Responsibilities
I’ve been working from the Outer Banks this week. My sister invited us down to the beach for a week of fishing… and I thought that this was a great opportunity for one of my “lite mode weeks”.
I use "lite mode" weeks in my business to reset my nervous system. I started doing this last year and had 6 weeks like this.
My soul loves the beach. Can you relate? I just instantly feel relaxed and calm. Walks on the beach are my favorite walks.
Basically what I’m saying is… a week at the beach is *very* good for my nervous system.
I don’t know about you but I built my business to enjoy my life… so I design it to work like that.
So let’s talk about lite mode weeks.
First of all, these are IN ADDITION to vacation. It’s important to completely take off from the business for a whole week. I try to do that a couple times a year.
But grinding work week in and week out isn’t good for our bodies (especially women because of our cycles). Personally, I try to plan my weeks lighter during luteal phase. Don’t worry guys I’m moving on…
Here’s my playbook for a lite-mode week
Out-of-office on email replies. I usually say that I’m working on lite mode and will be slower to respond
Little to no meetings. I plan lite mode weeks months ahead and block them as OOO in my calendar so I don’t get booked up.
I work a couple of hours per day… usually knocking it out in the morning. I make sure my team is unblocked and projects can move along.
I do what I can from my phone when I need to (I’m writing my newsletter on my phone on the beach right now).
I skip creating/posting content unless I feel inspired. This week I felt inspired on Monday so knocked out scheduling all my LinkedIn posts for the week.
Most importantly, treat lite-mode weeks like a non-negotiable boundary. These are for resetting your system so that you can show up your best for your communities and clients.
Last thing — you don’t have to make it a vacation or be at the beach but you do have to plan things that refresh you. Think: spa day, hiking, lunch with a friend, pool, etc.
Now go book yourself 3 lite mode weeks this year. No meetings. No community calls (hosted by you). OOO on ✅. Reply once you’ve done it!
And to this point... how do you actually take off from your community?
Let's get into it –
How To Take Vacation From Your Community Leader Responsibilities
This week a friend of mine that runs a community was struggling with her mental health.
She told me she didn’t feel up for running a call she had that day with the community, but she couldn’t reschedule because she had to reschedule a call next week.
And I get that. I think it was the right call to keep it going as scheduled… especially because she just had a nice influx of new members and we want to make a great impression.
Community-driven businesses are all about service… but what do you do when you don’t feel good enough to show up and serve?
So I asked her the one question I want all of you to answer for your communities:
What is your call facilitation equivalent of a teacher putting on a movie because they’re hungover (or need a mental health break)?
One of the biggest objections I hear to why people don’t want to offer a community-product is that they don’t want the ongoing responsibility of it.
But what they don’t realize is that you get to make the rules (and you get to break them).
For example, I send a weekly newsletter. And every once in a while I have someone else write it because I have a lot going on that week (like my guest issues), and I also take a couple weeks vacation every year from it. I just let my subscribers know. It’s all about bringing your community along for the ride.
So here’s a few things you can try (pick which works best for your business):
Test having ambassadors or community leaders run or facilitate an event. While Jay & Mallory Clouse took family leave for their new daughter, they had Lab members run calls for others. It was great!
If you have to run a call and aren’t feeling it, focus on connection. Scrap your intense teaching itinerary and turn it into a workshop. Share one thing quickly and then put people in breakout rooms to practice it and connect.
Schedule weeks without events. Your community members can use a break, too. And you can send an email that week with a few events to catch up on that were extra amazing. (“You finally have time to catch up on these replays”).
Host a co-working session. Have people share what they’re working on in the first 5 minutes and then everyone works and then you share in the last 5 what you accomplished. Easy & feels good for members. Win-win.
Remember that when you build community it’s not about you — it’s about your members. When you create a culture of connection & support it won’t even matter when you step away for a bit.
Build the community.
Be the connector.
Take the breaks.
This is about creating long-term, sustainable business.
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