A week in Maine…hiking, biking, eating lobster and crab cakes. Life is good!
Enjoying friends — six couples in one house and a boathouse. It was quite a 7 Fs week (faith, family, finances, fitness, friends, future, and fun). I think we hit them all.
Here are ten tips to think less about work so you truly enjoy your vacation:
- Have your administrative assistant or key manager send you two emails — one on Tuesday and one on Friday — giving you a few highlights of major happenings, FYIs, big sales, significant milestones, or other brief good news items. Don’t reply.
- Do not listen to voicemails from customers or other business partners. Instead, send a quick text, “On vacation. Will call you Monday.” Better yet, set up your caller ID to auto respond so you’re not bothered in the first place.
- Remind those business team members with whom you frequently communicate that you’ll be on vacation and will follow up upon your return. Give them a specific date.
- Leave your computer with all your data files at home. Use only your smartphone to communicate. You’ll be less tempted to do meaningful work. Remember you are on vacation. Better yet, vacation somewhere that you can’t get a cellular signal or leave your phone charger at home.
- When you feel tempted to do some work during a natural downtime while vacationing, stop thinking about work. Change gears with some physical activity — swim, go for a walk, eat some ice cream, etc.
- Put a jigsaw puzzle together or play board games to occupy mindless time. Get others involved and you will soon forget about work.
- Read fun books — a mystery thriller, a biography — something to help you escape.
- Eat slowly and truly enjoy your meal and the company of others. You’re not in a hurry.
- Leave your watch at home.
- After you wake up in the morning, sleep one more hour.
Please let me know what you would add to this list.
Human relations principle of the week: “Smile” ~ Dale Carnegie