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Book a hotel to get work done? Really?

There was an episode of Sex and the City where Carrie Bradshaw does just that, and I remember thinking at the time (many many years ago) that was such a lavish concept. Turns out it wouldn’t be a pair of $900 stiletto babies that would afford me the luxury, but my own babies.

If you are an entrepreneur by nature, parenthood serves to accentuate your skill set. It hones your multitasking ability, amplifies your ability to dream big, and puts budget into a whole new perspective. It’s also the source of a lot of sleeplessness, guilt, and conflicted feelings. All you want to do is be with your babies, but you need to get work done. Work interrupts your enjoyment of babies, and then babies interrupt your work. After a while finishing your work starts to feel hopeless — as does spending time with your family— and the mom guilt cycle locks in.

At times like that all I want to do is to lock myself in the closet with a pot of coffee and my laptop so I can catch up on everything and get back to being present with my kids instead of navigating the world of ‘oh my god I have so much to do…’ on a loop in my head while we play together.

That’s when I start fantasizing about packing up my laptop and moving into a hotel for a weekend. I’d work as late as I needed, order room service so I wouldn’t have to distract myself with cooking, and focus all my problem-solving energy on myself for a few consecutive hours. I’m not the only one who thinks like this, because my Facebook feed is perpetually peppered with posts by small business owners and entrepreneurs asking for the same thing.

So when Impressions PR and Days Inn asked me to join a small group of female entrepreneurs on a BizCation, I almost jumped out of my skin. We were invited to spend the night at the fantastic Days Inn in Collingwood, Ontario. The plan? We would participate in an afternoon session with transformational business coach Marysia Czarski and  tackle our most pressing issues in a group exercise; destress at the on-site gym, hot tub, or pool; network over dinner; and of course take time for ourselves to catch up on work— and sleep.

It was glorious. And yet, what I was not expecting about the #DaysInnBizcation was the depth at which it would both affect me, and connect me to the other entrepreneurs.

The women that I spent time with had unique business situations and challenges, but we all spoke the same language, and we all had the same instinct to give of ourselves without question. We were giving to our families, and to our businesses, and to our friends, but none of us were giving back to ourselves.

With Marysia’s help we learned not just how to use creative thinking and ideation to find multiple solutions to our problems, but also how to facilitate convergent and divergent meetings to maximize the efficiency of our solutions. We learned how to give back to ourselves by finding the right answers in less time.

And with the comfortable, sparkling clean rooms appointed by Days Inn, we refuelled, reenergized, and rejuvenated. We connected with our bodies again with yoga, restful sleep, and the space we needed to be alone.

Since my return I have been working and playing mindfully. My productivity has started to soar along with my confidence. The BizCation approach works.

One of the first things I teach my clients when we are looking at their creative businesses, is to value their time. But aside from making sure that translates to a dollar value, you need to make sure that translates to time for yourself as well. That was the biggest takeaway from my experience and I’ve already put the lesson into action.

This Friday, I am taking my sister back to the Days Inn for a ‘SizCation’, so we can finally take the time to map out some business ideas together.

Thank you so much Days Inn!

If you’re one of those people on my various feeds who have been wishing for a BizCation, book yours today and save 15% on regular rates. You won’t regret it.

This post is sponsored by Days Inn