Well….I ran the experiment. Full transparency – I did check email mid-way through the week, giving myself 30 minutes max. Doing so actually gave me some peace of mind. Putting a time box around it gave me some boundaries. What I realized is that nothing was urgent, about 60% of my emails did not require a response at all and I have a dynamite team that can cover for me while I am away. Moral of the story: the sky doesn’t fall when we take a week or two off. It took me a few days to really unplug mentally as well. The insight: As soon as I chose to be fully present to my family it took the focus off the spinning in my head. It is true. Where you focus is what you get.
So, before going on vacation:
- Let your clients know you will be out and who they can connect with if they need something
- Trust your team to take care of it
- Notice before you go how many of your emails do not require an urgent response so you can relax going forward
While on vacation:
- Be present
- Pay attention to your intention and honor that
- Be kind to yourself
- Breathe in the joy of space
