Listen, I know it sounds silly. But in a world that is so loud and distracting, it’s easy to forget how to stay present with your family on vacation. Especially as a small business owner.

We recently went on a Disney Cruise over Christmas with our 3 kids and a group of friends and my main goal was to be fully present. Being an entrepreneur and working from home makes it hard for me to be “all in” with my family 100% of the time and I wanted this vacation to be different.

I wanted to give them all of me.

And that’s exactly what I did.

No work, no distractions, no noise except the sound of enjoying the magic of being together.

But how did I do it?

How did I shut it all off and think of nothing but my time with them?

It’s pretty simple when you spell it all, so let’s dive in!

 

HOW TO STAY PRESENT WITH YOUR FAMILY ON VACATION

 

1. Put your phone down. 

 

I don’t know about you, but it’s really easy for me to waste a TON of time mindlessly scrolling on my phone. I know this is a hard thing to implement because so many of us work from our phones, but when you’re on vacation, work can wait. Put it away, toss it aside, or put it on airplane mode. This will eliminate a huge distraction when it comes to being present with your family. We aren’t getting this time back mamas, so let’s try our best not to waste the years away on our phones.

Luckily for us, we didn’t even have service for most of our trip so even if I was tempted to check my messages, I couldn’t. Simply knowing there wasn’t a way to be focused on work made it easy to not even worry about it.

 

2. Plan adventures to keep busy. 

 

I know that vacation should be a time for rest and relaxation, but sometimes having nothing to do encourages our minds to think about something. And a lot of times that means we focus on work. Keep your schedules full of fun activities that allow you to simply enjoy being with your family. On our cruise, we enjoyed a lot of fun in the sun and went on a few excursions to help pass the time. We made memories to last a lifetime and I can proudly say I was there for all of it!

 

3. Shift your Mindset.

 

Instead of telling yourself that this time with your family is a distraction from your work, tell yourself the truth. Work is oftentimes a distraction from your family.  Vacation is the time to set the record straight and focus on your family without any thought of work. Dedicate a few moments each day to check in with yourself. Tell yourself your business is fine without you. And move forward with excitement to spend every second focused on your family.

 

And if all else fails, just let go.

Let go of the pressure to perform and simply be in the moment. That’s such a rare feeling for us as mothers and entrepreneurs that it can sometimes feel uncomfortable. But I can promise you, there is nothing better than just “being” with your favorite people.

And guess what?

When I came back from nearly two weeks of being fully present with my family, my business was still there. Still thriving without my undivided attention.

If you’re looking for tips and tricks on how to make your business work for you, you have to check out my IDEA TO INCOME guide. When you know how to set your business up for success, you’ll be able to spend time away from your business without missing a beat!

If you’re still unsure how to stay present with your family on vacation, I’d love to chat with you more over on my Instagram, @mkoehler. I’m happy to share more about my experience of keeping two businesses running without missing a second with my family!