How much time do you really take off a year? By that that I mean take off so your brain can relax from it all. Is it more than a day or two? Do you ever unplug for an extended period of time?

We are bombarded with alerts, emails & reminders all day. You need a break.

I was recently told by someone to feel free to email or text them since they’ll be checking it every chance they get. And they were on vacation. Well if that’s a vacation than what’s the point.

More and more people are turning off their phones. I just heard an interview with Greg McKeown author of Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less and he said he’s not carrying around a phone anymore to check email. He also recommends taking a break every few months to reflect and plan. This is something he didn’t cover in his book but has recently started to promote.

Some tips to unplugging:

• Out of Office Responders: Set it! If you are on vacation let everyone know it. Set an autoresponder.
• Voicemail Message– Let the world know you are on vacation and not available. This is far better than having a client call and you not be able to get back to them in a timely manner.
• Preemptive Strike– Be proactive and let people know you will be away. Get them to tell you if they have any hot items for you. Yes you may get a lot of work dumped on you so build in a buffer of at least a week.
• Schedule time in advance for a review– What gets scheduled gets done. Look ahead by a few months then pick a day and make it yours. Take that day to reflect and review your journal. Think about your goals and your future.

The world needs your creativity. There are so many problems to solve and your brain may hold the answer. Let it unplug and do it’s thing.

Let’s talk more about this on Twitter.