How to disconnect from work completely
Y’all,
I just sent the last invoice for this calendar year and I can’t be more thrilled. My three week winter break begins tomorrow!
We all deserve a break this year around this time. And when I say ‘break,’ I mean a real break where you aren’t casually checking your work email, or incrementally working on work-related things in the background. Taking an uninterrupted period of time to rest and recharge is critical to your personal health, and the health of your business.
Over the years, I’ve gotten lots of questions about how I fully take time off, without being tempted to answer emails or get sucked back into work. But now, I take lots of steps in advance to make sure I won’t get reminded that work exists during my precious time off.
Make sure your project deadlines allow you to take an uninterrupted period of time. We’re not ER doctors. (“It’s PR, not the ER” is a common refrain among folks in my industry.) Things can wait, or if your client needs to proceed with a project in your absence, do the best you can in putting in your legwork before you go — don’t just dump a bunch of work in their plate. I like hitting milestones with projects so that there isn’t anything for me to do until I’m back from my break. I also tell my clients about when I’m off at least a month in advance so there are no surprises.
Set an email autoresponder. Let *everyone* who tries to reach you — not just your clients — know that you are away, and include information on when they might expect to hear from you. Mine currently says I’ll get back to emails at the top of the new year.
Delete your apps off your phone. Email, Twitter, LinkedIn, BlueSky, Threads, Slack are probably a handful that might be relevant to folks who are self-employed and contain information about work. Just get ‘em off your phone. Create barriers for you to access these types of platforms.
Tell your friends who are colleagues that you do not want to hear about work during your vacation time. Boundaries are first set with yourself and then communicated with others. I have learned over the years that even though I really want to be there for my friends, I don’t have the capacity to commiserate during my vacations when they text me about something work-related. I have made it clear, “Hey, I’m on vacation and I will not be talking about anything work-related. Can I follow up with you once I’m back online?” Nobody has taken offense. But we’re the only ones who can hold ourselves to the boundaries we create.
When you’re in a managerial or supervisory role, communicate with others any needs you may have. I manage and oversee two online Slack communities. I tell everyone to get in touch with me *only* if bad things happen. Note: bad things have only happened once while I was on vacation over the last three years, so I hopped online and nipped it in the bud quickly.
For the first few days of vacation, make it easy for yourself to be disconnected.
I know that it can be hard to go cold turkey on work if you’ve never done it before, and it absolutely helps to have a forcing function.
I personally always have to travel somewhere immediately right after I call off work. Otherwise, I might be tempted to still dilly dally at home, in my office, knitting while picking away at random tasks on the computer while watching a show.
If you’re doing a staycation, check out neighborhoods on the other side of town. Go into the woods for a hike or snowshoe where there’s no cell phone reception. Pick a new book that will likely be engrossing to read. Pick up a hobby that isn’t reliant on having your phone around, or requires use of both hands (pottery, knitting, playing an instrument are all great). If you’re hanging out with friends, stack your phones in the center to avoid looking at them.
We’ve still got one scheduled episode for y’all — and there’s still time to snag that secret episode too as a Patreon!
Otherwise, see you all in the new year.
Until 2024,
Wudan