How to Take Time Off from Your Nonprofit or Grant Writing Business

Yes. A summer sabbatical, two-week break, or maybe even a year abroad sojourn could be exactly what makes sense for you in your nonprofit or grant writing business right now.

I've been hearing this term thrown around in entrepreneur groups lately of taking a sabbatical. No longer is this term only whispered in the halls of academia.
This actual term of sabbatical is defined according to Merriam-Webster dictionary as:

noun
a period of paid leave granted to a university teacher or other worker for study or travel, traditionally one year for every seven years worked.
"she's away on sabbatical"

adjective
1.
relating to a sabbatical.
"sabbatical leave"
2.
ARCHAIC
of or appropriate to the sabbath.

So, yes, this is way more of an academia term yet also includes a nod to some thing sacred. Pretty cool, huh?

What is also interesting as most entrepreneurs and grant writers would use this term as paid time away. This might mean having saved up funds for this particular time off or maybe they are generating some passive income. For nonprofit leaders, the time I am talking about taking off is also paid time away. 

Because, let's face it. Taking time to recharge isn't so relaxing when you're not getting paid. 

When to Take Time Off

Well, there are several different ideas of this.

1) The most common is to take off time when you are so burned out that you literally can't function. Usually this type of 'time off' includes hospital rest at the very extreme all the way to sleeping for days on end. This is a dangerous place to be, however the good ole American work ethic and literally work people to death. Not that good after all, huh?
2) The next most common is to schedule time off after an intense workload period. So after a huge fundraiser or long grant season. You know you will need a break so you schedule in advance for after that intense period of working. Let's be real, sometimes they intense periods need to be had. But let's look at another way.
3) The least common but most effective. Schedule time off before you get burned out. Seems pretty simple, but so many people feel guilty for doing this! Imagine, you take off time so during those intense periods you can feel fresh and 100%. How much more productive and less intense would those periods feel?

While looking at this in my own life and grant writing business, I realized that I need to be operating on #3  A LOT more. I am a very classic A type personality and going, going, going is my game. But I often find myself operating in the #2 (or sometimes #1) phase and it is not a pretty place to be! 

In this podcast, I go behind the scenes of how I was able to take off my 'summer sabbatical' and set up systems where my brand still continues but I get to take off time with my family!

This system can be replicated :)

Think about what phase (1, 2, or 3) you resonate with and how you can start to operate more in #3.


Thanks for listening!
Holly Rustick
Expert Grant Writer & Bestselling Author
https://www.grantwritingandfunding.com/

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