My good friends at Red Elephant posted this article on Facebook this morning.
It’s a great premise, but this copywriter found the structure of the article somewhat confusing. Let me sum up:
1. Pre-schedule tweets, text more than email, keep phone at a distance, have your team back home run triage
2. Maximize device capability, minimize # of devices; limit
3. Again, set a window of time each day to check emails/play catch-up. Then unplug. Even better, set aside longer periods of time less frequently–three hours every third day. Can you live with that?
4. One mo’ time: even two windows of time per day, if being offline has you absolutely twitching and blinking. Also, remove the email icon from your device so you’re less distracted and tempted by it.
5. Okay, so #5 was less about how to have vacation and more about tech device tips to be more efficient and productive while traveling. Boo. I’m out of the office. But then he concedes that if he must work, schedule all meetings and calls in a 2-hour window early in the day. Also, he keeps his phone in airplane mode when he is “unplugged” as a way to be less tempted to check email.
6. Bring lots of devices so you have backup. Collaborate your travel buddy in making cocktail hour (before dinner) a hotel lobby bar laptop excursion.
7. Travel with a compact power strip because hotel rooms are often light on outlets. Plenty of other tips like this, because again, this guy is more about how to work well while traveling than how to enjoy your vacation. CopyPunch does not approve of this message.
8. Skype. It’s a wonderful travel tip; has little to do with vacation, unless you apply it to saying hi to your kids.
IM(NSH)O
One problem is, our devices are so integrated, so to turn off your phone just doesn’t mean shutting down work; you’re also shutting down personal contact. Now, when I was a kid, and I do mean well into my 20s, that was simply part of vacation. People were given your itinerary so that if there was an emergency, they could track you down. We don’t operate that way anymore; we are not accustomed to that level of quiet. You might want to consider it; it’s incredible.
You can also “unhook,” for lack of a more technical term, your work email, so that it simply does not come through. Then for that one hour a day, change your settings back so you’re reconnected. If you’re anything like me, your clients probably text you, but this could eliminate some of the intrusion. And I do not mean to make our clients sound intrusive–we set it up this way!
And by the way, make sure you communicate with your clients that you are on vacation. If you have a team, make sure they know they are in good hands. If you are a one-man show, (yes I said man; I’m kitschy like that), let them know what your on/off plan is.
Oh and hey! Book a free CopyPunch Voice Consult call.