In the last 3 months, I’ve done some things people think are crazy.
- I spent 30 days off Facebook.
- I took a four-day weekend and shut off my work email.
- For the 2nd week of a two-week vacation, I killed the email widget on my phone.
I’m admittedly not as hyper-connected as many of my peers. Most notifications on my phone are off, including both business and personal email, and all social media. Part of it is my introversion. I also find the interruptions non-productive. According to studies by Gloria Mark, associate Professor at the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences at UC Irvine, it takes a little more than 23 minutes to return to a task after an interruption.
I am guilty of working during vacation. You’ll notice in the third bullet above, I didn’t turn off my email for the first week I was gone. I’m not alone. According to a 2014 Randstad study, 42% of employees feel obligated to check work email while on vacation. It is driven by fear and an exaggerated sense of our own importance – “They can’t live without me.”
This last week has been awesome. I rode and worked on my motorcycles. I spent time with my daughter and girlfriend. I’ve kept an incredibly consistent gym schedule. (Yes, this is fun for me.) I’ve accomplished some non-work things. I’m eager to get back to work on Monday, even though I know we’re getting ready to tackle some difficult stuff.
I’m going to try something new. I’m going to shut off email for all my vacations. When I’m not working, I’m not going to work. (Wow, read that sentence. Try not to think “duh.”)
This doesn’t mean I’m completely incognito. If something major comes up and I’m needed, my phone is usually with me. My out-of-office message instructs people to call with immediate needs. But I’m not going to get sucked into the day-to-day problems and issues that come into my inbox.