How to switch off from one’s business is one of the biggest problems to day, especially with all the communications channels available. If one can’t step away from the normal hurly-burley, then not only was the time one spent earning the money for the holiday completely wasted but your personal life will be strained as well.
My view is to manage my time spent and monitor what is happening so I don’t come back to an unexpected crisis.
The answer is planning. Before you go:
- is there a trusted associate who can handle issues with your most important clients?
- Set up any newsletters and social media posts to be sent out while you are away;
- let your customers know when you’ll be away and what arrangements you have made (e.g. I’ll be checking emails and voicemails daily, responding within 24 hours);
- set up a voicemail message like the above.
Then agree with whoever you are going away with that you’ll spend a short time everyday (such as when they are in the bathroom) to check emails and voicemails.
On the voicemail front, I have a system that answers all my mobile and landline calls. It evens transcribes them into an email. As it is an app on my phone and tablet, I use wifi or mobile data to listen to the messages and use email or WhatsApp to respond. It’s pretty cheap and is called Hullomail. I’ve used it all over the world and frankly, by avoiding my paying international roaming charges, it’s almost paying me!
And then put everything away till tomorrow and enjoy yourself.