How solitude is wonderful for business and helps in reducing burnouts

If you have members of the family across the world like I do, it’s likely that that you will be celebrating Eid from them because of the pandemic and travel restrictions. This will be another exceptional Eid as we follow government regulations to keep our communities safe.

When I started my entrepreneurial journey years ago, productivity if you ask me meant a packed schedule. I attended social gatherings and networking events and my free time was spent travelling or catching up with friends over weekends. Bottom line - I rarely had time to myself.

But as my business and work tasks grew, I found myself getting increasingly fatigued. For a person, who's generally calm and will not prefer to argue with anyone, I was easily agitated and got stuck in a rut with few innovative ideas. That of course was major problem, given that I done creative projects all the time.

The burnout eventually got the best of me and I was bed-ridden. Then I realised that not dedicating time to myself was the reason to blame.

I spent weeks from then on episode altering my lifestyle. I researched and found out that spending time alone was actually good for both my wellbeing and my business, as scheduling time for solitude helps productivity and creativity.

A report published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology by Jungsoo Kim and Richard de Dear from the University of Sydney discovered that people perform better if they have privacy and that getting together with others while working could negatively impact productivity.

Research by Sherrie Carter, a psychologist and author who specialises in extreme traumatic stress in women and children, has highlighted how solitude and removing distractions from an average workday can help employees concentrate more and improve productivity.

With Eid approaching this week and several of us hanging out alone, we have to take this chance to remove the Zoom fatigue and shed our work routines for a few days. Managements also needs to help staff fully recharge, by telling them to avoid screen time and work-related activities, and come back rejuvenated to achieve their targets.

There is a reason many artists and writers seek solitude when working on big projects. Though I do not retreat to a cabin in the woods to seek solitude, I dedicate my early mornings when every person else sleeps to get inspiration. It can help me to fix work-related issues and discover new ways and suggestions to develop my business.

In his publication titled 40, Saudi Arabian media personality Ahmad Alshugairy wrote about his connection with living on a remote island in complete isolation without getting together with people. He explains how no technology for 40 days helped him to create a book and inspired multiple ideas. Though not everyone can spend 40 days in isolation like Mr Alshugairy did, we are able to all dedicate at least some alone time during the Eid holiday, think hard and get some good inspiration.

Solitude can help you strategically plan

Planning to reach your personal goals is merely as important as planning growth of your business together with your colleagues. Spending time alone will help you re-evaluate your individual goals and identify where you need to make necessary changes. Following Mr Alshugairy’s advice, I dedicated my first 24-hours of complete solitude two years ago to evaluate my own goals and dreams, and update my life’s roadmap. It has become an gross annual ritual since.

Spending special occasions like Eid from family and loved types is challenging, but given the circumstances, we have to look at this as an possibility to turn off completely and spend time with ourselves. Your body as well as your business will many thanks for that.