You may think that you can’t have a retreat during a pandemic, but our guide will help you plan your own private retreat to find the focus you need for the year ahead.
How do you plan your business retreat?
Follow this guide to plan your own personal retreat to get the refresh and focus you need to set your goals and find clarity in your practice!
One day business retreat or a week-long business retreat
Determine the length of time you can give to a retreat. My quarterly retreats are often just a work day. Twice a year I like to do a couple days out of the house. Whatever you decide, you most likely will have the initial reaction of “I don’t have time for this.” Lean in and challenge that idea. Do you have a morning? 3 hours? Can you stretch that to a day? How about 3 days? Start with where you are at. We often find when people have their first retreat they become more bold with the next, extending the amount of time. As you do more retreats you will learn what is the right fit for you.
Who should be at your business retreat?
Determine who will be there. We’ve done business retreats solo, together, and with colleagues. If you do this with other people, you need to be on the same page for the purpose. Otherwise, you might end up taking a vacation (which is great!) but never getting to your original plan of working ON the business.
How do you choose your business retreat locations?
Pick a location. We recommend moving your space for the business retreat out of where you normally work if you can. If you cannot, no worries, we want you to change up where you sit so you can tell your brain - “hey, we are doing something different today.” You get to decide what works for you and your life. You may need help with childcare, which means staying in your city but hiring a sitter for a few hours. The key is to do something different from the norm.
What business retreat ideas really work?
Plan time for play and movement. Business retreats should be holistic. Remember, your best aha! moments often happen on walks, in the shower, or during a massage. Make time for exercise, movement, relaxation, or doing something fun.
Bonus points if it is something new to you because this is where we unlock our brain to see things differently. For example, during our last retreat with clients we incorporated Tahitian dance. I am going to be honest - I was nervous! But all of us together pushed past our comfort zone and the instructor was amazing. I learned something new, had fun, and energized my body and brain. Plus, we laughed a lot a the silliness and the challenge of the class.
What is one thing you want to try that you have been putting off? Add it to your retreat agenda.
Business retreat goals
Set a goal. What is one thing you want to walk away with from the business retreat? Often, we have a goal in mind. It can be our quarterly plan for content or it could be developing a new service or event. For you in private practice, it could be creating new marketing strategies or setting new goals in your practice. For our retreats, we like to pull ourselves out of task mode and more into visioning and high level planning.
Anything else I should know about having a business retreat?
Yes! Don’t be surprised if you show up and feel tired. Our bodies can allow us to push until we give it space to speak to us. Sometimes, especially if this is new to you, you are going to want to sleep when you take a retreat. That is why we encourage you to build rest and work in short spurts so you don’t exacerbate your fatigue.
You might find yourself resisting or avoiding during a business retreat. This is normal, too. We recommend having some accountability, someone you can call if you need a pep talk but most importantly we recommend you approach yourself with a lot of self-compassion. Working this way on your business might be a new skill and there is a learning curve to understanding your needs and your business needs in a new way.
Sometimes, people put the retreat on their calendar and don’t follow through with it. But, think about this - if you had a client on your calendar, you would keep that appointment. A business retreat is an appointment with yourself. Treat it with the respect that it deserves.
Your Day-Long Business Retreat Sample
This is just one of many ways you can experience a business retreat day. Feel free to modify, expand, or reduce this schedule. I am going to share what we eat when we are on retreat as well, just for fun.
7:00am Wake up, stretch, and get dressed
7:30am Meditation using Insight Timer App
8:00am Breakfast outside with no technology (eggs, spinach, avocado, toast, and berries)
8:20am Brisk walk outside with no technology
8:45am Write down intentions for the retreat and get a timer out for Pomodoro technique
9:00am Read or watch material related to planning, inspiration or goals (Ted Talk, masterclass, courses)
9:45am Break time! Go outside
10:00am Review last quarter - write down what has worked and what hasn’t, review financials, look at previous goals and what was achieved
11:30am Break time! Yoga stretches, or play
12:00pm Lunch (kale salad with chicken, sauteed veggies, and a dark chocolate cupcake)
1:00pm Brain dump ideas for the next quarter or beyond
1:30pm Organize ideas into priorities and start listing what projects to start on and get them in your calendar
2:30pm Creativity time! Take a class, do art, watch something funny
3:30pm Final wrap up and organization of projects - get goals somewhere that you can see them daily (on the wall, computer screen, or post-it note)
4:30pm Wind down with a massage, a nice walk outside, or something to calm your body
5:30pm Celebrate with a nice dinner
