Written by Tiffany Russell –
This January I was able to go on a delightful family vacation for 10 days. It was the first vacation I’ve taken in my career where I didn’t check work email or voicemail. US Travel Association research indicates the majority (43%) of American workers are dedicating less than 20 hours a week to quality family time. Just 19 percent are spending more than 40 hours a week with family. So how did I travel across the country and completely disconnect?
1. I met with my team. I was able to identify team members to help with specific areas. I established a chain of command for uncertain issues. I gave my team a list of leaders within the CVB to talk to about an issue before they called me. If they called me, it was on my personal cell phone. I told them what constituted a REAL emergency.
2. I called my major stakeholders in advance. I told them the plan and gave them contacts. I answered any questions they had. I met with the agency in advance to ensure projects were wrapped up before I left. Any outstanding projects could wait until I returned.
3. I talked to my supervisor. I was proactive in communicating my desire to disconnect and discussing expectations on both sides with my supervisor. I had support from my supervisor. I already had a plan in place that I was able to share.
4. I removed email alerts from technology. I turned my work phone off. I changed the voicemail. I removed my work email account from my phones, computer and iPad.
5. I didn’t reinstall them.
6. I waited until last day to make a check-in call. On my last vacation day (from the airport on my return flight), I made one phone call to my team to get a list of immediate to-dos for when I arrived the next day and to let me know what happened while I was gone. That gave me peace of mind to transition into work-mode the next day.
Guess what? My family was so happy to spend uninterrupted time with me. I didn’t get a single phone call. My staff was pleased that I trusted them to get the work done. I only spent one work day working late to catch up. One long work day was worth the 10 days I had with my family. I encourage you to speak to your supervisor and follow these steps if you need help disconnecting from work. It all comes down to supervisor support and knowing their expectations. Good luck and happy vacationing!