Why you should fully disconnect from work when on holiday (and how!) 🕶
If there's anything that I'm guilty of since I started work, it's that I'm one of those people who check their email or messaging while on Holiday. In fact, I have responded to Teams messages while I was on Holiday. It's a terrible habit to have. You can't fully switch off from work and it just lingers in the back of your mind.
So on my most recent holiday (or staycation) I decided to fully disconnect myself from work. I had two weeks booked off and I intended to enjoy my time off without thinking about work.
So how can you do that in a world where we're more connected than ever before? You may have something like Teams or Slack installed on your personal phone where messages can appear at any time, and is it easy to just dismiss that notification without reading it?
Some might say "I'll just turn on my Out of Office message!" - but you can still get messages from Teams, Slack or even just notifications from Outlook. Plus, I'm guilty of checking my messages even when I have Out of Office enabled.
So on my most recent holiday, I decided to fully disconnect myself from work. So that means:
- No email
- No messages from Teams
- No calls
- Nothing from work at all
You can do the same with the following steps with Teams, Slack and Outlook on iOS!
- Open the settings application
- Find the application that you want to disable notifications
- Open the settings for the application
- Tap on 'Notifications'
- Disable notifications at the top
And you're all set!
So what are the benefits?
For one, I feel much more relaxed. I haven't thought about work at all! My mental health has greatly improved since I turned off notifications from the work applications and I can focus on enjoying my holiday in peace without worrying about notifications from work appearing.
Secondly, I'm able to focus on my interests and hobbies in peace and quiet. Without having the thought of work lingering in my head.
I feel as if I've been able to fully switch off and fully enjoy my holiday.
And with the ongoing pandemic, turning off is more important than ever before.
So next time you're on holiday - maybe you should try switching off fully from work.
Thanks for reading! 👍
