The past few months have been an overwhelmingly stressful time for everyone. People have been dealing with a host of different issues from adjusting to working from home to wondering if they’ll even have a job to work from home tomorrow. And you as a leader have worried about these things for yourself as well as your employees. Not to mention the worry of how to keep your company afloat during a global pandemic.

It’s easy to get sucked deep into these worries and decide that you just need to keep your nose to the grindstone and work even harder to get through this crisis, but that isn’t the healthiest solution. You need to take a break. To take time to do something just for yourself, and not your business..

Taking time to get away from the office, though it may seem impossible with all that is going on, will help you recharge, refresh and be able to come back ready to fight again. No one can work at full capacity 24/7/365, not even you.

And while you might not be able to take that long distance trip you had planned for this summer, there are plenty of local destinations that can provide the break you need. It also doesn’t need to be a full week at a time, just a long weekend or even an afternoon off every now and then can help reduce your stress levels.

Not only do you need to get away from the office, you need to encourage your employees to do the same as well. They are feeling a ton of stress right now as well, but they might be scared to use their PTO days for fear of being seen as a slacker and losing their job. You have to reassure them that that is not the case and set the example by taking time yourself first.

Letting your business mind turn off for a day or two will help you, and your employees, come back more energized and productive than before. So what are you waiting for?