Taking Time Off Without the Guilt: A Leadership Practice, Not a Luxury

I took three weeks off for the holidays.

That doesn’t mean I stopped working.
It means I stopped orienting my life around work.

There’s an important distinction we rarely make as entrepreneurs and leaders. Time off doesn’t mean time off from responsibility, creativity, or care. It means time off from waking up to work. Time off from letting work dictate your mental posture, emotional bandwidth, and sense of worth.

Instead of structuring my days around productivity, I allowed work to become a touchpoint. I checked in here and there. I responded intentionally, not reflexively. I worked with my life instead of organizing my life around work. That shift matters.

Why Time Off Feels So Hard for Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs aren’t afraid of work. We’re afraid of losing momentum, relevance, or control. Many of us equate rest with risk.

If I pause, will I fall behind?
If I step back, will things unravel?
If I’m not visible, will I be forgotten?

But underneath those questions is something deeper: urgency has become a default operating system. Not because it’s effective, but because it feels familiar.

In Seven Exits, I talk about leaving behind what no longer serves you. One of the most difficult exits for high-capacity people is exiting “hyper-ego” where the belief that value requires constant output.

What Actually Happens When You Step Back

Nothing fell apart during my three-week break. What fell away was noise.

When work stopped being the organizing principle of my day, my thinking sharpened. Decisions became clearer. I could feel the difference between what was necessary and what was simply habitual.

This is what rest is meant to do. Not recover you from burnout, but restore your relationship to choice. Time off, used well, is not about escape. It’s about perspective.

How to Take Time Off Without the Guilt

Here’s what made this break work without triggering the familiar anxiety or self-judgment.

1. Exit urgency, not responsibility.
   I didn’t abandon my work. I released the need to constantly monitor it. Touchpoints replaced vigilance.
2. Stop waking up to work.
   When work is the first thing you orient to, it claims your nervous system. I let mornings belong to myself again. I cooked a full breakfast every day.
3. Let rest be strategic, not reactive.
   I wasn’t recovery from burnout. I simply chose intentional distance for clarity. I do this twice a year, regardless of how I feel.
4. Trust what you’ve built.
   If everything collapses when you step away, the problem isn’t your break. It’s the structure.
5. Re-enter with discernment.
   The goal isn’t to come back energized and do more. It’s to return clearer and do what matters.

The Leadership Lesson

Sometimes the most responsible thing a leader can do is step back. This is the kind of exit Seven Exits invites. Not dramatic departures, but deliberate ones. As the year begins, my focus isn’t on doing more. It’s on carrying less.

And that, for me, is real leadership.

If you’re navigating a season where rest feels risky, this is work I explore more deeply in Seven Exits. You’re welcome to reach out if you want more information.

—Dr. Rosenna Bakari