The Strategy Sabbatical™: The Solo Business Retreat You Need to Finally Finish That One Big Project

You have the receipts. You have the range. You know how to get things done. From the outside, the bag is secured, the hair is laid, and the business is moving. 

But behind the scenes? You are tired in a way you don’t always say out loud. 

The problem is the environment. You are trying to manufacture CEO-level ideas inside an environment that is constantly demanding something else from you. You are trying to write high-level copy in the same space where you manage the grocery list. You are trying to map out your Q1 revenue plan in the same chair where you worry about finding a missing shoe or answering a client’s “quick question.” 

You don’t need another productivity hack. You don’t need to wake up at 5:00 AM. 

You need a change of scenery. You need a container planned to wake up your creativity, allow for deep self-care, and let you play tourist if the mood strikes. 

How the Strategy Sabbatical™ Was Born

A few years ago, I kept seeing a pattern among my clients and friends. These women were dope af with really good half-finished ideas. Outlines sat stalled on page two. Content calendars collected dust in the Notes app. Programs remained ideas because they couldn’t find the mental space to execute. 

The issue was capacity. 

I finally looked at one client and told her the truth: “Baby, book a hotel. Go somewhere for three nights. Record your course in a place where nobody needs you”. 

Then I took my own advice. 

I opened Google Flights, typed in Mexico, and picked the cheapest first-class flight. I landed in Mexico City two weeks later. I delivered a virtual workshop I already had scheduled, and then I claimed the rest of the time for myself. 

I treated the trip as a hard reset. I dated myself. I wandered through Mexico City. I journaled in gardens. I had long dinners with no phone and no apologies. 

But I also executed.

• I recorded a new webinar and built out an entire funnel. 
• I landed two five-figure clients that weren’t even on my radar. 

I came home grounded, happy, filled with creativity, and my energy restored. That trip proved that we don’t need more time; we need better containers for execution. 

I call this The Strategy Sabbatical™. 

What is a Strategy Sabbatical? (And Why It’s Not Just a “Workation”)

A Strategy Sabbatical™ is an intentional pause where you step out of your usual environment, give your nervous system a break, and spend a few days working on your business instead of being trapped inside of it. 

Most people try to do a “CEO Workation,” which usually means dragging a laptop to a beach and half-working while distracted by the view (or the guilt of not relaxing). 

That is not this. 

This is four days, three nights, one goal, and a city that gives you permission to be unavailable. It’s where you go to finish the work you’ve been circling around for months. If you are looking for support in building these types of systems in your business, check out The Collective.

Why You Need to Leave Home to Get This Done

The “established but stuck” feeling is never about your capability. It is about your capacity. 

When your life is layered—managing a business, aging parents, relationships, and your own evolution—your home environment is full of “micro-demands.” Someone always needs you. Something always interrupts you.

Your brain needs novelty to solve old problems. Your nervous system needs safety to exit survival mode. Your creativity needs distance to breathe. 

A new environment shifts your nervous system out of autopilot. When you remove the visual cues of your daily responsibilities—the laundry pile, the laptop on the kitchen table, the neighborhood noise—you signal to your body that it is safe to soften.

I felt this shift deeply during my recent trip to Québec City. I went there to speak at TBEX North America, but I used the time between obligations to prioritize my own regulation. I wandered Old Québec learning its history, enjoyed good food, met new people, touched a lot of damn grass, and meditated. 

The result was immediate. My ideas felt cleaner. My decisions landed faster. I wasn’t running from female entrepreneur burnout; I was walking toward myself. And in the process, I even reconnected with my SP.

Your 4-Day Planning Retreat Agenda

If you are ready to stop feeling scattered and start finishing things, you need a container. Forget the romanticized version of a retreat with matching pajamas. This is a reset with a purpose. 

Here is the planning retreat agenda that works: 

1. Pick a city that wakes you up

Choose a place you’ve been wanting to explore. It needs to be a place with culture—bookstores, coffee shops, gardens, or scenery that sparks something in you. It can be domestic or international, but it must be intentional. You need a new skyline to help you see new possibilities. 

2. Choose ONE high-value project

This is the most critical rule. You are not here to clear your inbox or answer Slack messages. You are here to finish one needle-moving project that will shift your business forward. 

• Mapping your quarterly sales plan. 
• Writing that nurture sequence you’ve been avoiding. 
• Batch-recording modules for your course. 
• Finally packaging your offers so they make sense. 

Small hinges swing big doors. This sabbatical is the hinge. 

3. Build your days around “Creation and Culture”

You don’t spend all day grinding. No ma’am. You split your time to honor both your business and your spirit: 

• Half the day is deep work: You sit in a hotel chair that doesn’t have your name on it, and suddenly the work becomes easier. 
• Half the day is romance: You take yourself on solo dates. You visit museums, walk the gardens, or sit at a café watching people live their lives. 

You create from a rested nervous system, not a panicked one. 

The Afterglow

The best part isn’t even the project you finish (though walking away with a completed sales asset feels amazing). It’s who you are when you return. 

You walk back into your life sharper. Softer. More decisive. You aren’t pouring from empty anymore—you are pouring from overflow. 

Two Strategy Sabbaticals a year is the standard, not the luxury. One catches you before the burnout. The other catches you before the resentment. 

So, here is your next step:

1. Pick a city. 
2. Pick a date. 
3. Pick one project. 
4. Book the flight. 

Stand ten toes down on your own peace of mind. Go meet the version of yourself who finishes things.