Why You Should Plan A Retreat in 2016

 Going on a retreat for a long weekend or a week, feels like a luxurious indulgence that’s hard to justify. But taking time out is good for you and your work, for a number of reasons – and a retreat could be anything from booking a cabin at your nearest camp site for a week, to a luxurious spa retreat in the Maldives.

You need time out of the flow.

Daily life marches on at a pretty relentless pace. From when the alarm rings in the morning to when the kids go to bed at night, our days are pretty non stop, and by the end of the day exhaustion sends us straight to bed or to the escape of a good book or tv show. In order to asses where you are in life, where you want to be, and how you are going to get there, its important to take time out of that flow once or twice a year at least. Step off the train, drop all the baggage of daily life and give your mind some time to reflect and dream.

 Your body needs a break.

 Self-care is an important part of taking care of ourselves. Taking time to nourish ourselves and our bodies helps us stay healthy, both mentally and physically. It improves our self esteem and improves our ability to take care of others. I

 You need time to look at the bigger picture.

 In life and in business it is all too easy going round in circles doing all the little jobs without looking strategically at the bigger picture. Stepping away from the small things to look at the bigger picture is an important exercise. Where do you want the business to go? Are you living a life you want to live? Where do you want do you want to be in five years?

 It’s good to hand over control.

Handing over the reins of the business or the kids to a grandparent can be a great exercise for everyone involved. Its good for employees to have time managing things themselves and it can be good for a founder or business owner to realise that things can be handed over. Kids are resilient – and its helpful to realise we are better parents when we are feeling nourished and rested!

Time to Disconnect

 In our perpetually connected age, taking time off from social media and our inbox at least twice a year is really important. Social media breeds all kinds of unhealthy emotions like jealously, envy and Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). The need to be online and answerable to our inbox almost 24/7 leads to high stress. Switching it off can remind us of the power of a good old paper book and the pleasure of simply enjoying a cup of tea and watching the birds on the lawn. Silence and solitude are valuable commodities that we often go without these days.

Woolf Works has two retreats open for bookings right now:

Our Get Sh*t Done Week in Bali is a women-only week, working on personal projects in a beautiful villa by Jimbaran Bay, from 29th Feb to 4th March.

Our Mindfulness Learning Journey to Bhutan is a 7 day journey, exploring the Bhutan Mindfulness framework, volunteering, hiking, eating great food, exploring Bhutan and sleeping deeply, with guided meditation sessions and yoga every morning.