If you’ve ever gone on vacation, and told yourself that you could never disconnect fully from work or life, then maybe this post can be helpful, as I used to be like that.
For context, I work in the Digital Marketing and Ecommerce space in the Retail industry. Always-on type of work – after all we have English and French transactional websites we need to run. It’s very rare for me to completely shut off, be it nights, weekends, or on vacation.
So here’s some potentially helpful advice.
Give Yourself Approval To Disconnect
I went on vacation with family in the middle of March. Usually while I’m on vacation, I’ll check my emails every hour, check Google Analytics regularly to see where sales and traffic are at, and I’ll usually even bring my laptop “just in case.”
Maybe being a Dad changes things, or maybe it’s because little Luca, my 19-month old, is a bundle of energy and is always in play mode, but whatever it was, this vacation felt different. I didn’t bring my laptop. Once I got onto the flight to Mexico for a 7-day sojourn and responded to my last email just before the plane took off, I felt a sense of calm and relaxation, one I wanted to maintain for the next 7 days. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do, the people I work with, and the industry I work in. But every now and then, the mind, body, and soul need some rest and calmness, along with a few manly strawberry daiquiris (double vodka of course).
You had to pay to get Wi-Fi at our resort. And that turned out to be a blessing. I wanted to disconnect from work on this trip. I don’t do that often, maybe ever. By day 2, I had for some reason already reached by data limit (I was barely on my phone, save for posting some videos and pics on Instagram). But again, another blessing. For 7 days, I really got to disconnect. I answered a few texts, checked in with the team, checked on sales. Check, check, check, everything was good.
Don’t Overvalue Your Importance in a Short Period of Time
The point is – you can do this too…if you want to. Nothing will break because you don’t respond to an email. You have a team for that reason. If you’re a one-man or one-woman show, maybe that’s different, and maybe you can hire a virtual assistant for a few days. But keep in mind that we often overvalue our importance during a 1- or 2-week period. If you’ve setup processes, your team, and the business for success, nothing should break.
Here Are the Benefits to Disconnecting on Vacation:
- Feel completely refreshed
- Have more energy and don’t fall into that trap of being tired after coming back from vacation
- You’ll trust your team even more
- Your team will trust you even more, knowing you have total and complete confidence in them
- Your mind will get some nice rest and recovery periods
- And the No.1 reason you should disconnect from work while on vacay: to give your family undivided attention. You won’t get that time back. Ever.
The More You Relax, The More Energy You’ll Have Upon Your Return to Work
I know it can be addicting to check emails and do some work while on vacay. And by all means, checking in at the end of the day while sipping on some champagne or a fine mojito is all well and good. But take it from me: try disconnecting, and you’ll be better served to help your business when you return refreshed and destressed.
So try it the next time your away on vacation. You won’t regret it.
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