Step Away from Your Laptop

I like Neil McIntyre's post about bringing his laptop on vacation. A Robert Half survey found that 38 percent of accountants take a computer - either laptop or hand-held - with them when they go off. (That's beside the 34 percent who work at night, and 37 percent who respond to e-mails or phone calls in the evenings when deadlines loom.) Neil notes:

• I left everything when I went on vacation last month. No laptops, and the phone was off the entire time!
  
• Working in the evenings is a given during busy season and sometimes necessary at other times.
  
• I respond to emails if I happen to check my work address, but that doesn’t happen regularly at this time of year (see above).

A couple of thoughts struck me:

More people take computers with them on their time off nowadays, whether they're going on an out-of-town vacation or just hanging around at the local beach. I don't think anyone would argue this is a societal change - computers are all over the place, they've knitted themselves into our daily lives, and whenever you turn your head, you see people on their cell or scrolling through their PDA. You see all of these people connecting, and it's hard to resist taking a minute just to connect yourself "to see what's going on."

This means taking vacation requires a certain amount of self-discipline: Self-discipline to avoid turning on your laptop, to avoid calling into voicemail, to avoid carrying your Blackberry to the beach. Some people are better than at this than others: Lately, I've tried to put myself in the habit of leaving my laptop at home when I go away with my wife. I mean, if we're spending a bunch of money on a schooner trip or a hotel, I'd just as soon enjoy it.

Our product director, Evan Lessor points out that if you're not careful, you could come home to a nearly impenetrable inbox. Good point. To avoid that, I suggest:

• Before you go, leave a message on your voicemail, and an auto-reply on your e-mail, saying you're be out of the office, won't be checking in, and giving the date you'll return. On mine I try to nudge people toward contacting me when I get back. And I'm sure to say "I'll respond to your message when I return."
  
• Plan on using your first day back as a catch-up day. Don't schedule meetings or project deadlines too close to your return. And certainly don't think about going out for a job interview, or having your annual review.
  
• If you must sneak a peek, do it a day or two before you go back to work, and just to clear out garbage messages like spam or newsletters you don't plan to read. Doing this has the added benefit of letting see what you'll be up against when you get back to your desk.

Work-life balance: Laptops on holiday [Neil McIntyre]