Hi, this is Cyril from Work Smarter: Live Better.
In this video I want to share one simple suggestion to disconnect from your inbox while you’re on leave.
I was working with a group of managers from a large bank here in Australia, and we were discussing and were practicing email management, and we were discussing an interesting topic: which is – How can I disconnect from email when I’m on leave.
For most people it’s impossible.
Most people now do email in the evening, on weekend, and for a lot of people they really struggle to disconnect when they’re on leave, and they’re just like “I’ve received so many emails that I have to check from time to time when I’m on leave otherwise it’s going to be a nightmare with just eight days off. There could be something big coming.”
The issue for me is not only the time that you’re spending on it; the 15 minutes per day or the half an hour every two or three days that you’re jumping on your inbox.
It’s also the stress that you’re carrying for the rest of your day.
You’ve put yourself back in work mode and there might be a few emails that are still in your mind even when you’re on leave. So you’re not 100% disconnecting and you’re reconnecting to work every day or every two days.
As we were having this discussion, one of the leaders shared a trick used by the COO of one of the largest Food and Beverage Company in the world. It’s really simple and very effective trick. This person has an out of office message.
The out of office message says, “I’m on leave until the 15 of March, until then I will not check my email, if it’s urgent please SMS my wife, here is the number.”
Absolutely brilliant! I loved it. If it’s so important that you’re okay to SMS my wife first and disturb my wife, like kind of if the building is on fire and you really need me, if there’s an absolutely emergency, please SMS my wife, she’ll come and get me.
Now I suggested until now to my clients the same thing, but SMS me and already people are a little bit more reluctant to SMS you, but the SMS my wife. I think that was absolutely brilliant.
This is this week work smarter leave a little tip.
Maybe try it.
A bit extreme but I thought it was great idea.
Try it and see how it goes and try to disconnect from your email on leave.
Hope you have a lovely day.
Until next time, take care.
