Sometimes the most obvious answer is the right one. As founders and mothers, here’s how we think about doing the impossible: taking time off.
We’re in the midst of a transitional season. After a stretch of patchworking childcare solutions during a season that has the pressure to be fun, memorable, and “easeful,” kids are now returning to school, often opening up new emotional caves for parents to help them navigate. We’re creating new routines and navigating new beginnings for ourselves and our children. On top of all of that, we’re preparing for an election amidst global conflicts, and yes, it is still worth mentioning a post-pandemic society. Stress is at an all-time high.
As founders who are also mothers, we realized that this time of year was particularly difficult for us to balance. We love our work, and it recharges us in so many ways, so while we don’t necessarily want to drop the thing that gets us excited most days, we need to intentionally create time and space to focus.
That’s why we made the decision to take time off as we transition from Summer to Fall and support our team as we do so. That doesn’t mean work takes a back seat, it means that we meet our target market where they’re at and practice what we preach by taking care of ourselves first, as well. In doing so, we’re able to be even more focused and refreshed at work by taking a break. We’re a co-founding team of three, which has proven to be a good business strategy not just for our outcomes but also so we can support each other as we each take time to rest.
We know this is not an easy thing for mothers or founders to do – particularly if you’re both.
We also recognize it’s a privilege to be able to take time off and something we have because we own and run our own company. But we believe flexible work should be the norm. For us, at our current stage of growth, flexible work means:
- communicating upfront any known need for more flexible schedules and delayed responses (e.g. during the Summer when childcare is unpredictable and oftentimes requires more time managing new commutes and schedules and supporting the developing emotions of children);
- rotating ‘true’ out-of-office time off between team members so that there is always coverage - for our customers, our vendors, and investors;
- minimizing digital clutter via Slack or emails while various team members are out of the office so they are supported to disconnect as much as possible; and
- celebrating our regular rest and recovery, and inspiring others to follow along – with each other, and well, you!
Without flexible work or acknowledgment of seasonality and the changing peaks and troughs in a year, the health and safety of people both at work and in our lives are inhibited. This falls far short of the spaciousness that certain seasons, like summer, should provide so that we can dig deeper when other seasons call for it.
In fact, researchers found that women who took vacation less than once every six years were eight times more likely to develop heart problems compared to those who went on vacation twice a year. Going on vacation can lower your chances of a myriad of mental and physical health problems and can often drive health benefits. Being in nature has the effect of reducing your heart rate and blood pressure, and engaging in physical activities can improve heart and respiratory health while building stronger bones and muscles and improving balance.
This is why vacation – and even just “time off” is a non-negotiable for us.
For our founding team, taking time off means different things. One of our founders, Cecilia, shared that spending time in nature took on a new meaning now that she’s a mother. For Cecilia, a moment of swimming in the ocean was magical because she instantly decluttered her mind. In that moment she was no longer trying to give mental capacity to both parenting two small humans and building a business she cares so deeply about. (At least for the few minutes before she returned to shore after her daughter’s frantic cries were too heartbreaking to ignore.)
For Thara, taking time off recently meant something very different. Her choice was to stay put instead of taking her family on an explicit “vacation.” Instead, over the no-school season, she managed kids’ camps or playdates so that she could take days or pockets of days to herself to organize the house, practice yoga, read, or go to the ocean. She recognized that the mental load of ensuring that all family members were taken care of on a “vacation” would have been more stressful than restorative. She prefers her time off to include established routines and focuses on small victories during those days.
We share our experiences because we know that the norms in society aren’t working for so many people, especially so many women. We want to do things differently because we know that a better reality is possible, and we are living it. We’ve been burnt out at previous workplaces and from caregiving responsibilities. At hey freya, we believe the most powerful thing a woman can do is take care of herself, first. This includes helping women understand why we’re feeling the way we’re feeling so we have the information and resources to feel better and to rest. This starts with how we run our own business.
Reach out to us to share how taking time off works for you.
