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Will you have a digital detox? This time of year sparks the age old debate about whether you should or shouldn’t stay connected to email when on leave. Recent studies have confirmed that email is the biggest drain on business people’s performance. So when it comes to holidays, those concerned with their own well being or that of their employees – should shout ‘Get a life’, disconnect as we all need time to discharge and recharge our batteries properly.
Last year Daimler introduced an email programme which automatically deletes all employees’ emails whilst they are on leave. Digital detox holidays are now on offer. When you arrive at your hotel you can elect to have all Wi-Fi connections disconnected. In the USA some psychiatrists have now suggested that internet addiction should be treated as a psychiatric disorder.
Technology alone will not cure email overload despite some software providers claims. The real cure lies in changing our email behaviour. It is about re-thinking how we use email and curing what has become the hidden disease of 21st century working life – email addiction. It’s about learning how to use and manage our time and accept that it is OK to disconnect.
Even without such support, we can all self-impose other strategies including an email black-out. This will help while we are away and when we come back from leave. The benefit of your time away from the office it is vital to learn to how to wean yourself off your email/internet fix. If you can stop logging on or taking calls, you will relax more quickly and your friends and family will appreciate your undivided attention. You and they are worth it!
If you find it hard to disconnect then at least limit the distractions.
Tags: Daimler, Digital detox, email free vacation, Holiday email backlog, Pack up your inbox
Do you plan either to log in whilst on leave or pack up your inbox for a well deserved break? Whilst we all like to think we are indispensable, the benefits of disconnecting from the inbox (and indeed most aspects of the wired world) have been well documented in previous blogs.
For those who do intend to close up their inbox whilst they take a vacation here are our top five tips to help you reduce coming back to a severe case of email overload.
Email stress free vacation
If you feel you really must stay in contact whilst on vacation minimise how many times you check your emails to once and at most twice a day. Otherwise be prepared for some heated family arguments and possible having to deal with a wet iphone/Blackberry.
Past experience suggests that not logging in is like excess cargo which needed to be dumped (to paraphrase Diana Athill).
Reaching inbox zero on your return can be quick and easy by following this seven point plan.
Still need help downsizing your inbox and saving time dealing with email? Call us now to discuss how our Brilliant Email masterclasses can help you and your business.
Tags: email free vacation, email overload, inbox zero, out of office message, Pack up your inbox
Will you or won’t you? Should you or shouldn’t you … check your emails while you are on leave? These questions remain hot topics judging by recent press coverage. Some feel their bosses and today’s 24/7 way of working means it is required of you as a professional. Others say you can’t really switch off properly and get the benefits of your break if you are constantly on line.
Many of you will be just about to go away or just coming back. So I thought you might like to take a look at the coverage and be reminded of some useful things you can do to minimise email intruding on your vacation and making your return a misery.
Lucy Kellaway in the Financial Times, not surprisingly, dislikes those Out of Office messages saying you are on leave and feels that staying connected is the right image for those who want to survive in today’s full on business world.
Email stress free vacation
My view? – well I believe in disconnecting if possible but being realistic. I would say restrict yourself to logging on once a day but don’t let yourself get dragged back into work detail.
Delegate responsibilities and do some work to cut your inbox before you go as summarised in an article by Darren Slade business editor of the Daily Echo.
With respect to Out of Office message, I agree with Lucy about banal ones. However, setting a professional Out of Office message can help manage sender’s expectations and reduce cyber crime risks.
Whether or not you disconnect or stay connected you will undoubtedly return to a bulging inbox and Timothy Stenovec on Huffington.Com provides five very useful top tips to take back control of your inbox.
Click here for the full article by Tim Stenovec.
For more tips and hints on how to deal with email both on leave and on your return see my recent blog on email security over the vacation and the seven step plan for dealing with the vacation back log.
But this is not just about individuals making the decision to log on or not during the holiday season. Companies need to give clear guidlines about what they expect. Just as you should provide guidelines on what is acceptable email etiquette/style for your business, you should also include what is expected from employees on leave and especially in relation to their Out of Office message.
This is an area where we can and would be delighted to provide advice and guidance on email best practice to ensure you and your most valuable asset (your employees) have stress and email free vacations and minimise the cyber crime risks associated with Out of Office messages.
Have a great holiday.
Tags: email best practice, email free vacation, email on vacation, email overload, email security, out of office message
Email cyber crime attacks effect one in two UK citizens and on average £247 is stolen from bank accounts per successful attack. Moreover, the Government’s Intelligence Services estimate that UK businesses are subjected to roughly 1,000 cyber attacks every hour. Email is often the low hanging fruit for the cyber criminal, rather like leaving the car keys near the front door so that the criminal can fish them out. How well do you and your business manage email security? When was the last time you updated your email best practice policy and provided any email management training?
There are two types of email security breaches, those we cause by carelessly leaking confidential information and those where others attack us. This blog deals with the former. Common cause of leaking confidential information by email (and not just during vacation time) are through:
Email security
Here are five top tips to help you manage the risk of a breach of email security and hence open the back door to a cyber crime attack especially during the vacation period.
If possible try to take an email free vacation. We all need down time. Dealing with sensitive emails over the holiday in a relaxed state of mind is often when breaches of security happen as we are at our most vulnerable. If you feel you cannot swich off it might be because you are suffering from email addiction. Click here to check if you are suffering email addiction.
Tags: email best practice, email cyber crime, email free vacation, email management, email overload, email security, out of office message
I chose to disconnect last week whilst on leave. No email, no social media. Running the business (and me) was delegated to our very able Administrator. We agreed a process to minimise the post vacation email overload. Rules were set before leaving to folder all known lower priority emails (eg newsletters).
Meeting request would tentatively accepted. How often have you as a PA spent time arranging meetings in bosses absence and they return and have different priorities. One executive once said he felt his PA saw her role as filling up his diary with meetings which he and she then had to 
undo as his priorities changed. How often does that happen to you when on leave? Used in this context ‘tentative’ takes on a new and useful function.
Otherwise, If something was ultra-urgent we agreed she would call/text me.
On the second day sitting having pre-dinner drinks how did I feel watching the three others all with their heads in their iPhones and Blackberrys? Certainly not left out. Rather the reverse: included in the here and now and able to people watch and enjoy the gentle lapping of the waves as I relaxed and stayed calm. I can only image this must be what it’s like for a reformed alcoholic watching others drink whilst they nurse a lemonade.
A huge plus was the extra time to read instead of feeling I should decamp early from the pool and go and deal with the day’s email tsunami. The book was recommended by a colleague. I wanted to email and say how wonderful it was. But what value did it add for either of us? Had I done so there would have been an email chain which wasted both our times and added to the email overload.
Knowing the business was in safe hands was a wonderful feeling. Although one worry was that my personal emails come in on my work address. It is worth separating business and pleasure, but as Steve Jobs famously said he had only one email address. I make this work for me too. There is a Hotmail address but that is only used for signing up for white paper and special offers etc. None of which is life changing if not read for a week.
What of my social diary – golf matches and alike? Our Administrator dealt with any that looked like they required a response. So no lost golf games or party opportunities! Two years ago such arrangements were nearly all done by phone. Now of course it’s email, although some friends (and relatives) say they still prefer to talk. In some ways social engagements were better managed as there was time to think and consider instead of feeling one must make an instant response.
I was tempted to log in during the week and join in when everyone else had their heads in their iPhones etc, but a glass of whisky and the urge evaporated. After all having delegated, what would that say about the trust placed in our Administrator? Furthermore, why did I want to disrupt my calm mind. Also, previously I have made poor decisions when in holiday mode through lack of context and having all the necessary information to hand.
At the airport again the urge to hit connect welled up. As in my previous blogs my advice for dealing with the holiday email tsunami is talk before checking the email to prioritise and save trawling through stuff which does not merit your immediate attention. In my case it would be talk and read the ‘read me first email’ as my first day back in the UK was Saturday. I was two hours ahead of the UK so my briefing email would not be ready until we were in the air. Some food and drink soon took away the urge to log in.
On my return as expected, the junk had been trashed and the remaining messages prioritised.
Not logging in was as to paraphrase the great Diana Athill ‘ like excess cargo which needed to be dumped’. I came back feeling more relaxed and able to see the big picture again. Also an a huge bonus, no post holiday email overload and it was very easy to reach inbox zero on day one of my return.
Of those in the party that did log on. One person was asked why they did so when the manager did not? One said they were paid to be available to their clients at all times and yes, someone did want to meet them on Monday. Could it have waited? Probably yes. Did I miss email, twitter etc? No. In fact it has left me re-assessing the value of some of these tools.
What is your experience of no email days/weeks when on leave?
Tags: email addiction, email free vacation, email management training, email overload, inbox zero