How to plan an Offsite for One
I’ve been doing it every year for the last decade.
An annual ritual where I hit the pause button to look back and plan forward.
For those who work for an organisation, ‘offsites’ are regularly organised for teams to get out of the office for an afternoon or a couple of days in order to review progress and plan for the future.
Well my ritual is an Offsite for One.
And whether you work for yourself like me, or have a role in a company, we rarely get the chance in the busyness of our daily lives to stand back and get that perspective on how far we’ve come and where we’re headed next.
That’s why I make time, space and budget for my Offsite for One. Usually I go somewhere I know will energise me - a train to Edinburgh or the Eurostar to Amsterdam. I always return a few days later with much greater clarity about my progress and my future. It’s like a reset for my career or business and I can’t recommend it enough.
If you want to experiment with your own Offsite for One, here are six tips to get you started:
🗓️Commit. Schedule the time. Block it out. Whether a half day or two days, whatever’s realistic. Set your out of office message. Ensure there are no meetings or work calls scheduled. It’s an investment in You.
🚂Go somewhere else. A favourite city. A town you’ve never visited before. A trip to the coast. I prefer train travel over the car. It gives you extra time for thinking, note taking and daydreaming out the window.
✏️The right tools matter. I take my 35mm camera to get in a creative mindset. Non-fiction to read on the train. A fresh notebook and favourite pen.
❓Prepare. Create an agenda just like you would if you were planning an offsite for your company or department. Give yourself questions to answer, goals to set, new ideas to devise. I divide my agenda into two parts: reflection and renewal. First, reviewing the last 12 months. I look back not only at revenues but also satisfaction. What were the relationships I found fulfilling? What elements did I enjoy most? And then looking at renewal. What changes do I want to make? What projects am I seeking? What fuel do I need for the journey ahead?
😊Have fun. When I booked my 2022 Offsite to Amsterdam, I hadn’t realised it was King’s Day. When I arrived in the city it was one huge party. It wasn’t quite what I expected. But I decided to live like a local for the afternoon. I got into party mode and that energy set the pace for a really productive day or two.
✅Stay accountable. When I travel back home on the train I use the journey time to turn all my notes into action points. It’s essential the trip has a tangible output. Afterwards I regularly review these and my goals to see how I’m doing.
If you’re curious to dive in deeper, read about my 2021 Offsite for One in Edinburgh: “In search of the light — a trip to reflect and renew”
