Looking back through some archived files I came across this I wrote back in 2013 . . .
2013 has been quite a year so far.
I sold a business in 1993, but this time it’s been a very difference experience. Some of it good, some of most certainly not!
Hey ho, all part of life’s rich tapestry as they say and what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!
Maybe it’s just my character, personality, get on with it mentality and bouncebackability.
I just know it will go into the mix with the rest of my life and business experience.
I’ve certainly learnt a lot this last eight months and know that will be hugely useful for future business decisions … my own and my clients!
So, it’s decision time.
Crack on or take a break?
. . .
It’s time to take a break – definitely!
So, with that decision made what do I need to do practically, I ask myself?
I need a plan. Sorted. Almost.
How do I escape my inbox?
You must have had that thought yourself at some point?
Funny how sometimes just the right inspiration comes along.
Is that luck?
I certainly subscribe to the idea of ‘when the pupil is ready, the teacher will appear’.
In this instance the ‘teacher’ was an article on taking an email sabbatical. What a great idea!
In a nutshell the article kicked off with questions:
“Have you ever returned from a vacation more stressed out than when you left?”
Is the reason because you came home to 10,000 email messages that managed to convey high pitched anxiety even in text (with a few exclamation points to add pressure)?
Should vacations not be a break from the insanity, not a procrastination of it?
I could feel the pressure and I hadn’t even started to pack my suitcase!
Given the current position with the sale of the premises and the closing of the business almost complete, but no quite I did doubt whether I could disappear completely, but it would be good to get somewhere near to that so what could I do?
Firstly I needed to be able to put an ‘out of office’ message on my email.
To do this I needed to take yet another technology learning curve learning and move my email to a hosted exchange server so I could set an ‘out of office’ message.
Sorted.
A pat on the back for me – thank you!
Out of office message typed, a couple of tests to check all was working – marvellous!
That done, I’m off for August. I’ll let you know how my month off goes and my email sabbatical!
What do I remember learning at the time?
- After a couple of days of withdrawal symptoms I didn’t miss it all (a bit like giving up coffee or chocolate if you’ve ever tried that!)
- FOMO disappeared (that’s the Fear of Missing Out!)
- Anyone who wanted me urgently called me (there wasn’t that many calls and my ‘out of office’ message made it clear what I was doing and why I was it) *
- I realised how much unnecessary email I was getting
- On my return I unsubscribed from loads of stuff that was no longer relevant to me
- I could get on with important stuff when I got back into the office without losing a day (or more) catching up on stuff that really didn’t need catching up with!
- How easy it is to get sucked into other people’s stuff
- I could recognise my time bandits!
- I had a refreshed approach to how I would handle email moving forward
- One important thing to note taking an email sabbatical isn’t for everyone . . . it really does depend on what you do, what your business is, what you are responsible for.
- Still worth giving your email habits some thought though. If you want some help maybe it’s time to talk.