Allowing yourself to unplug
I’m back from a vacation where I completely unplugged from work.
I like to do this when I can because I find that it refreshes my brain like nothing else. It offers me new perspectives. Sometimes I find that when I unplug like this, the things that weren't really working before I left either fade away, or a solution presents itself. It helps me to lift myself out of rumination about my business. When I come back, I have more clarity.
Often, I’ll get a download of new ideas on the way home, and I make an effort to type them into my phone or jot them down in a notepad.
Just typing that first paragraph made me feel like I needed to put a condition on my words by saying that unplugging on vacation is a privilege. And my friends, it shouldn’t be that way. Everyone needs and deserves to take time away from work. Our jobs are not supposed to be the only things in our lives.
Even though I have the ability to take a true, unplugged vacation, and I believe that it benefits me, I still feel a certain amount of shame about doing it.
We reserve our harshest judgments for ourselves. We might tell our colleagues or our friends and family that they should absolutely unplug while they're on vacation. But sometimes that grace doesn't extend to ourselves. Managing your own mind might be the hardest part.
I talked to someone this week who is in a quiet time with their business. This was a planned quiet time – they know they will be very busy later in the year and they want to take time now to rest. But they feel guilty. People say to them, “You must be really busy in your business” and they feel ashamed to say that they aren’t.
What story are we telling ourselves when we rest or take time away from work?
Do we think that people will assume that we’re failing if we aren’t busy all the time?
Do we fear that people will think we’re lazy, unambitious, or irresponsible?
Are we afraid that being able to unplug from work means that we aren’t needed at work?
How would it feel to ignore what others think and do what we know is best for us?
I know my own work and my schedule. I’m able to plan ahead so that I can unplug from my work. I know from experience the benefits that I get from completely unplugging increases my creativity and productivity, and the fresh perspective helps me see things differently. Taking a true vacation makes me BETTER at the work that I do.
If you can manage to take time away from work and truly unplug, I highly recommend it. Here are some of the things I do to make it happen:
Set a clear out of office message that states that I will not be checking or responding to emails between these dates.
Make a solid to-do list for myself so that when I return, I can dive back in.
Clear my calendar as much as possible for the first couple of days back.
Prep any presentations or meetings before I go so that it feels easier to step back in when I return.
The world of work is changing, and hopefully the idea of taking vacation time will continue to become not only acceptable, but expected.
A quick story: My dad was part of a long-ago generation. Born in 1927, he grew up believing that we were basically put on this earth to work. I remember when my brother got a job that included paid vacation time. When my brother took vacation days, my dad would say to him, “If you stay away too long, they’ll figure out that they don’t need you.”
Let’s leave that way of thinking in the past where it belongs.