Tuesday Tip: Handling Email on Vacation
The holidays and winter vacation time are here, and this always brings about a modern struggle… how to handle all the email that keeps coming your way when you’re supposed to be spending time with your family.
I’ve struggled with balancing work and family time over the years, sometimes to the point that my wife felt like a third wheel to me and my smartphone. Here are some things I do to help keep things “in check” when I want to “check out” for some vacation time.
Set up an “Almost Out Of Office” message
It never fails… moments before you’re to step out off the office for a week of soaking up the sun, a client calls with an emergency. Thing is, it wouldn’t have been an emergency had the client not waited until this exact moment to contact you. Help prevent this scenario by setting an “Almost Out Of Office” message.
Three or four days before you leave, turn on your vacation message to automatically warn people that you’re about to be out of the office and that if they have a problem they better bring it to you now. This will help put out fires before they burn your vacation down.
If you use our standard email, here are instructions on setting this up:
http://www.themodernfirm.com/helpdesk/index.php?pg=kb.page&id=439
If you use our cloud email:
http://www.themodernfirm.com/helpdesk/index.php?pg=kb.page&id=435
If you use our Google Apps offering:
http://support.google.com/mail/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=25922
If you use our Hosted Exchange service:
In Outlook click “Tools” then “Out of Office Assistant” or click the “File” tab, then click the “Info” tab then click “Automatic Replies”
Set up an actual “Out of Office” message
Once you leave for vacation, use the “Out of Office” message for it’s intended purpose, to let people know you’re really gone.
In your message, include the following:
The date you will return to work. You don’t need to let people know when you left. That way if someone emails you on the last day of your vacation, they won’t have any idea that you’ve been goofing off for 2 weeks, just that they’ve got one day to wait for you to return.
Under promise when setting the expectation for a reply. Let people know if you’ll be replying while on vacation or when you return and how long that may take. You’re on vacation, so be conservative. That way if you do reply to someone quicker than they were expecting they’ll feel special.
Include words like “personal vacation” or “out of town with family.” I’ve found that when people know you’re really out on a true vacation, and not just a work related thing, that they’re more likely to leave you alone. Leave the details of your trip out, knowing that you’re gone is fine… learning that you’re on a dream trip to Tahiti will make people jealous.
Provide emergency or alternate contact information. Of course make sure you clearly define what an emergency is so that you don’t get abused. This is a nice way to know that you’ve gone the extra mile to be available to your clients. If you have a partner that is handling things while you’re away, provide their contact information.
Set a routine for checking in
I love my away time, but I find it hard to totally relax if I’m not completely sure things are okay on the business front. On most vacations I have an agreement with my wife to do a quick email/voicemail check in the morning and again in the early evening. Your check-in times may vary, but I just do them when we don’t have anything else going on. This puts my mind at ease by allowing me to quickly handle small things, delegate other things, and let clients know that they’re on my radar for when I return.
Create a Buffer Day
Use your out of office message to let clients know that you’ll be back in the office one or two days after you’re actually back. Leave your out of office message on during this time and don’t answer your phone; you’ll be rewarded with some relatively quiet time to get caught up on emails and other tasks.
Have an Emergency Contact Process
One of the best ways to feel comfortable venturing out on vacation is to simply know that you can be reached in an emergency. Whether it’s your staff that has this information, or something that you provide in your out of office message, knowing that you can be reached if absolutely necessary will help you disconnect from constantly checking your email.
Bonus Tip: If you don’t want to give out a personal cell phone number, sign up for a free Google Voice account that will forward calls to your cell phone, but will have its own, separate greeting and phone number.
Finally, Realize That You’ve Earned It
When you’re in the business of solving people’s problems day in and day out you feel needed, and it can make you feel pretty important. But sometimes, the best thing you can do for yourself, your family, your staff and your clients, is to just kick back, relax and recharge.
Your business won’t collapse if you don’t return an email within the hour. Enjoy your vacation, you’ve earned it.
