Harbouring regrets is unhealthy—I get that. But if I were allowed to harbour one regret, it would be that I didn’t routinely schedule whole days off from my business for recreation. That’s where the fishing friend comes in: a character who embodies a commitment to time off from your small business. I now know that one day a week away from my business would’ve alleviated a lot of accumulated stress.

Working excessively can become a bad habit, even to the degree that you feel guilty if you’re not at the office or staring at a spreadsheet on your computer. And I can’t claim that those days when I worked when I should have been spending time with my fishing friend (or family and Jack Russell terriers) were productive. In fact, my presence on those days didn’t do me or my business any good.

You may have no interest in fishing at all, but that’s not the point. You can have a cycling friend, hiking friend, skiing friend, running friend, swimming friend, sailing friend, boating friend, mountain-climbing friend, dog-enthusiast friend, and so on and so on. If the activity involves the outdoors, so much the better. But you have to commit to a designated day—no excuses.