Feature: How to Disconnect, Part 2
In last week's edition of this newsletter, which is for people who travel with gadgets and work on the road, I offered strategies for how to travel without gadgets and how to not work on the road.
This week, I'm continuing with the theme, with tips on how to not check your voice mail and e-mail. After all, the summer holiday season is upon us. And when you're on vacation, developing a tan line is far more important than worrying about a deadline.
Check Voice Mail in the Morning--If You Must
Do you really need to check office voice-mail messages during your vacation? Probably not. But if you feel you must, do it only in the morning so you can get back to your vacation with minimal interruption. And don't check messages every morning, unless it can't be avoided.
Don't worry too much about answering urgent questions left on voice mail or in e-mail while you're away. Often, such "urgent" questions, when not answered right away, have a tendency to answer themselves. Many times, someone has left an urgent business question on my voice mail. Nine out of ten times, when I'm unable to respond in a timely manner, I discover the caller has found the answer to that burning question on their own.
Hands Off the Computer
Most e-mail messages (aside from spam) require you to make a decision, answer a question, send a response, or take action of some other kind. For those reasons alone, you'll never fully disengage if you insist on checking e-mail while on vacation. So unless something extremely important was brewing before you left that absolutely requires your attention while away, don't check your e-mail. Period.
If you have an Internet-connected cell phone/PDA hybrid, leave it at home. The temptation to check e-mail on such devices is simply too great, because it's so easy.
If you can't keep from going online, find an Internet café near where you're staying--at least you'll be hanging out with the locals. And by the way, going to Starbucks doesn't count, because you can do that at home. Find a locally owned, quirky coffee shop with PCs connected to the Net. Also, if you insist on checking e-mail, do it only in the morning, to minimize the disruption of your day.
Before you leave, check out this directory of 4207 Internet cafés in 140 countries.
Still Need a Cell Phone?
Need something to replace the PalmOne Treo 600 or other phone/PDA hybrid you left at home, so you won't be tempted to check e-mail? Use your traveling companion's mobile phone. Rent a cell phone. Or buy one with a pay-as-you-go cell calling plan, such as those from Virgin Mobile.
With Virgin Mobile, you pay 25 cents a minute for the first 10 minutes of each day you use one of the company's phones. Afterwards, all calls are 10 cents a minute for that day. The fees include roaming and long distance. There's no annual contract or monthly plan. You simply buy an allotment of cell phone minutes upfront. Each time you use the phone, the minutes are deducted from your account. Virgin Mobile operates on the vast Sprint PCS network, which is nationwide in the United States. You can use the phone to make international calls, but you can't use it outside the U.S.
Set Up an Automated E-Mail Reply
How do you handle e-mail that arrives while you're away, from people who don't know you're gone? In most cases, you can set up an automated out-of-office response to incoming e-mail. The reply should inform others that you are away from the office without access to e-mail or voice mail and will be responding to messages on a specific date. As I mentioned in last week's newsletter, add an extra day to your return date. For example, if you're returning to work Monday, mention that you will begin replying to messages Tuesday. That way, your first day back should be less stressful.
Don't include your emergency contact information in your automated e-mail reply. After all, if someone were contacting you with a truly urgent matter, they wouldn't do it via e-mail.
Most corporate e-mail systems offer automated reply options. You may also be able to set up an automated response on the support pages of your ISP's Web site. For instance, EarthLink offers instructions on setting up a vacation message.
If you're using Microsoft Outlook with a Microsoft Exchange Server e-mail account, you can set up an automated response using the "Out of Office Assistant" on Outlook's Tools menu. (If you're not using a Microsoft Exchange Server e-mail account, the Assistant doesn't appear in Outlook's Tools menu.) Details on how to set this up are available by clicking Help on the Outlook toolbar.
Outlook Express doesn't offer an automated response option, unfortunately.
Eudora offers an auto-reply feature. For it to work, however, you must leave your computer running while you're away. The Eudora site offers a tutorial on setting up the auto-reply.
Have Fun
The main thing is to remember how hard you work all year and how much you deserve a break. And keep in mind that, regardless of your incredible talents and insights, the business world can soldier on for a week or two without you. It's a humbling--but also incredibly freeing--thought.
Your Tips
Do you have a strategy for disconnecting from the whole wired world? If so, tell me about it.
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