When I first started Inbox Collective, I tried taking vacation the way I had when I had a traditional 9-to-5. I turned on the out-of-office reply, closed the laptop, and ignored emails until I got back.
I returned from vacation to a pile of unread emails and tasks. I spent days trying to catch up.
What I learned was that at my 9-to-5, there were other people who could pick up the slack and answer questions while I was on vacation. But now I was my own boss. It was just me — if I didn’t reply, no one did.
So now I take a little time, every day, to deal with tasks. Urgent stuff gets handled that day — not as fast as it would if I was at work, but usually done within 24 hours. Less urgent stuff gets tackled when I have the time. Some stuff gets put off until I’m back at my desk — no big deal.
But by spending an hour or two every day on work, I make sure I don’t come back to that big pile of tasks.
Is that strategy for everyone? Absolutely not. Some people like doing a little work on vacation. Some people would rather throw their laptop in the ocean than answer an email while OOO.
The only important thing is to figure out what works for you.
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I took that photo of my laptop a few years while on vacation in Florida.