Unless it’s an emergency, maybe those emails from coworkers or clients can wait?
Like many others, as advisors take some time off from work in the final dog days of summer they should make sure their vacation does what it’s supposed to do.
People struggle with whether taking time off is worth it, given the stress associated with preparing for time away from the office. But there is science behind the benefits of being away and ways to make it more manageable, according to Elizabeth Grace Saunders, a time management coach who recently wrote about the topic in the Harvard Business Review.
Distancing yourself from work can mean lowered stress, improved sleep, enhanced connections with others and improved concentration and creativity.
To achieve that, there are two “buckets” of stress people need to manage, according to Saunders: completing work before your departure and being away from the office.
Planning ahead of a break is critical to reducing stress before and during it. Among other tips, leaving some time open in the calendar during the days or week leading up to a trip allows time to address the unexpected that might occur.
But even if you’re reading this well into your time off and sweating the emails in your inbox piling up, all is not lost.
“If you do decide to check in, set limits. For example, you could spend one hour on work each morning and then stay away from your computer for the rest of the day,” Saunders writes. “Or you could ask a coworker to text you the status of an important project so that you’re informed, but don’t have to open your inbox and get sucked into work mode.”
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