01 Aug How To Go On Holiday
Photo on Visual Hunt
“The difference between technology and slavery is that slaves are fully aware that they are not free”
Nassim Nicholas Taleb
The greatest thing about technology today is that we can be connected 24/7.
The worst thing about technology today is that we can be connected 24/7.
By the time you read this, I will have been on holiday for just under a week, with just over a week to go. I’m not going away – it’s a ‘staycation’ – and as a business owner, one of the hardest things about being on holiday but not going away is forcing myself to switch off. It’s not because I don’t trust my team – or my business partner! I absolutely do. If I’m being totally honest, the temptation to ‘check in’ now and again probably stems from the fact that I predominantly work from home, so being at home can feel a lot like being at work.
At least I can console myself with the fact that I am not alone. What frightened me about this article was this sentence, in respect of a recent survey:
24% say they were contacted by a colleague on a work issue, 20% by a boss.
In our office, the business owners are generally contactable only in an absolute emergency (we are never both on holiday at the same time), but for everyone else being contacted whilst on holiday is absolutely verboten.
Everyone needs time to recharge the batteries and you can’t do that unless you can park your job for a while, relax and enjoy being the version of yourself who exists outside of work.
I fully admit that the run up to going on holiday can be hugely stressful. Thank goodness someone has come up with actionable guidance on how to deal with that!
For me, being on holiday doesn’t necessarily mean never thinking about the business – I come up with some of my best ideas when I’m relaxing and not dealing with the day-to-day ‘stuff’.
Being on holiday is also the perfect time for making personal plans for the future. It seems that it’s only when our minds have time to ‘breathe’ that we can really think about where we want to go. The danger is that we only get as far as thinking about it. As the saying goes “You can’t plough a field simply by turning it over in your mind.” To have any chance of getting to where you want to go, you need to take action.
“When you establish a destination by defining what you want, then take physical action by making choices that move you towards that destination, the possibility for success is limitless and arrival at the destination is inevitable.”
Steve Maraboli
Carolyn