Three Weeks Away
I recently spent three weeks with my wife and daughter road tripping around Southern Australia and Tasmania. We’d saved for several years, planned for several months, and eagerly anticipated the chance to experience that remarkable part of the world.
Taking that much time away from work wasn’t easy. As a one person business with several ongoing clients and the constant need to be booking upcoming projects it was a real concern to be (mostly) disengaged.
I know there are leaders who have no trouble setting work aside completely aside when they’re off; that’s never been me. And so, in case you also find it difficult to fully step away, here are some of the things that made it possible for me to be present for the adventure while keeping my work anxiety under control.
Prep and Planning: In addition to the saving and planning for the trip and ensuring our older children and pets were cared for at home, I let my ongoing clients know months ahead of time that I was going to be away. I booked sessions and calls (both before the trip and for right after getting back) well in advance. I also made a point of doing extra promotion and project proposals about a month before leaving so I could line things up for the next couple months.
Email Triage: While traveling I spent 15-20 minutes most days checking in on my inbox and replying to anything urgent or important. I know the so-called best practices say we’re supposed to shut off completely, and I did set up a clear Out of Office message, but with no one else to keep an eye on things I wanted to stay aware. It also meant I didn’t have a completely overwhelming pile to sort when I got home. My wife understood that doing this, mostly in down time along the way, would reduce my stress and make me better able to be truly present the rest of the time.
Tech Support: About a year ago I started using Calendly to book incoming calls and meetings. It saves me a ton of time and avoids double booking and time zone confusion. I was worried that people would find it too cold, but instead my clients appreciate the ease of booking directly into my calendar at a convenient time for them. That meant I could just send them the appropriate link and they could self-serve lining things up for my return. To avoid roaming charges on our phones we used Airalo eSIM cards for the first time. It was very helpful for email and internet, and we set up our family to communicate by WhatsApp instead of the usual texting. I did turn on my regular account when we needed to make phone calls a few times, but overall I found the eSIM a great tool.
Scaling Back Expectations: In addition to being less available to clients (I did do one key Zoom meeting from a campground in Tasmania), being away meant I wasn't generating revenue or incoming projects for those three weeks. That’s significant for me. To make this trip happen my wife and I had to anticipate a lower total income this spring. I also knew it would mean having a ton to do in the weeks just before and immediately after the trip to properly serve the charity leaders I work with. As it turns out I’m going to be running hard until mid-June. It may be a little too much, but we agreed that it was worth it.
I know there are lots of leaders who are more efficient, more systematic, and more able to fully disengage when they take time off. That’s just not my wiring or current situation. If you can be one of those leaders it’s probably a better approach. But if you’re the kind of person who prefers or needs to stay somewhat aware even when on a lifetime adventure maybe something here can help you out.
How do you manage your time off?
Contact me if I can be helpful to you and/or your organization.
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