It can be viewed as a positive that technology allows us to stay connected with the office and work colleagues when we are on the road but if you are trying to switch off and take a break for a few days that level of availability could soon stress you out.
Here are some tips and ideas on how to manage a stress-free vacation and unplug from the usual lines of communication, including how to prepare for some downtime, how to cope with tech temptation, plus a solution to help you truly switch off.
Advance notice
One of the best ways of ensuring that your emails and voicemail don’t start stacking up is to give plenty of notice to work colleagues and contacts that you are taking a break from work.
If you can notify everyone relevant that you are going to be out of the office and on vacation at least a couple of weeks before you head for the airport and the beach, that gives everyone time to prepare and expect your absence for a period of time.
Not only is it a good business courtesy to give advance notice of your intended vacation it should help to ensure that you don’t get anything like the usual volume of contact and correspondence.
Disconnection discipline
Venues like the Greenbelt Marriott Hotel Maryland are geared up to provide the sort of services you expect as a business traveler such as Wi-Fi access, but when you are trying to take a vacation rather than work, it can be a tempting dilemma.
If you use your smartphone and tablet as part of your private life via social media it means that you are unlikely to want to leave your tech at home, but that raises the temptation to check on your work while you are online.
Consider setting up vacation messages on your business email accounts and setup call-divert so that colleagues can field messages on your behalf while you are away.
Drawing the line between work and play can be a challenge but if you are going to properly relax on vacation and take a break it will involve a disciplined approach to going online.
Going off-grid
A good way of truly getting away from it all and removing yourself from the usual work distractions is to plan some travel where you put yourself out of cell range.
Giving yourself a digital detox by going off-grid can work wonders in terms of giving you time to clear your mind and recharge your own batteries when your regular tech tools are rendered inoperative.
Aim to delegate tasks and defer projects that can wait until you get back to work so that you don’t stress out unduly about not being reachable for a few days.
In order to achieve a good level of business performance throughout the year, it is essential that you make the most of your opportunity to unplug and unwind on your vacation so that you are physically and mentally fit and ready when you get back.