Janson's Journal | December 2025 Issue

Make Time for Some True Rest

Happy Holidays, everyone! I'm writing this with a little smirk and a touch of irony. Let's talk about something most business owners desperately need but rarely practice: true rest. Shocking as it may sound, one in four business owners takes absolutely no time off during the year.  Glassdoor just dubbed “fatigue” as its 2025 word of the year.  There are endless statistics and cultural nods to the fact that business owners are overworked.  
  
This holiday season, I'm challenging you (and myself) to do something radical: actually disconnect. Set clear boundaries with your team and clients. Craft an out-of-office message that provides peace of mind - and maybe keep it on for that first day back to ease the transition. If you never want to give the impression of truly being OOO, consider also outhorsing your email.  
  
Use the downtime over the holiday to reflect. What worked in 2025? What didn't? Document your goals for the coming year, not as a rushed checklist, but as a thoughtful roadmap. Consider how you'll communicate these aspirations to your team, transforming individual vision into collective momentum. 

Can We Tell You a Secret?

The dirty little secret about us, crazed business owners, is that we actually enjoy thinking about our business during downtime. This doesn’t mean letting it take over or coming before family, friends, or self-care. But I consider (possibly a sad testimony on my part) that musing about new service offerings and product features, resource shifts and process updates is actually a welcome use of time “away” from work. 
  
In terms of “real” recreation – this isn't a luxury. It's strategic recovery. Reconnect with family, catch up on sleep, dust off those hobbies gathering cobwebs. Your mind needs this reset more than another spreadsheet or strategy session. One study from the University of Illinois indicates that time away from work can improve productivity by up to 30%. If even half of the improved productivity came to fruition in January – it would be well worth it!

Let’s take that much-needed break from work – with a bit of time spent considering our businesses away from the chaos of the day-to-day – and vow to return in 2026 energized and excited about the year to come. Leaving fatigue in the 2025 rearview mirror. 
  
 And yes, I'm fully aware I'll likely be the hypocrite checking emails and responding to Slack messages. I will consider progress over perfection as a win. Here’s to 2026! 

Wishing you the happiest of holidays!

Sources for Janson’s Journal

Here are the sources for the statistics mentioned in the "Janson’s Journal" section, along with their publication dates:

  1. https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinecastrillon/2025/12/10/why-fatigue-became-glassdoors-word-of-the-year-for-2025/

  2. https://www.entrepreneur.com/living/successful-people-use-the-holidays-to-reset-are-you-one/481667

  3. To find the specific source for the statistic that 1 in 4 business owners take no time off or vacation, you can refer to the following studies and reports:

    1. ZenBusiness Survey: ZenBusiness has conducted surveys on small business owners, and their findings often include statistics about time off and vacation usage among entrepreneurs.

    2. National Small Business Association (NSBA) Reports: The NSBA regularly publishes reports on the state of small businesses, including insights into work-life balance.

    3. Gallup Research: Gallup surveys and studies frequently address topics related to work environment and employee well-being, which may include data on the time off taken by business owners.

    4. University of Illinois Study on Breaks:

      a. Title: "The Benefits of Taking Breaks"

      b. Authors: Rebecca W. Watson, et al.

      c. Journal: Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied

      d. Link: University of Illinois Research (You may need to search for the specific article since direct links can vary.

Susan Nichol