Email Vacation

Today I leave for Playa del Carmen, Mexico for a destination wedding.  My best friend Sarah will be marrying her best friend, companion and love of her life this weekend.  This is my first vacation in years out of the country and I could not be more excited.  It is not everyday that one of your best friends gets married and I can't wait to be there standing next to her at the alter as she enters married life.

When I land into Cancun, Mexico (in t-minus 10 hours), I am going to do the unthinkable..... unplug myself from email (personal and work) and my cell phone for 5 days!

I am nervous, anxious, and uncertain of how I am going to "handle" this break from email and technology.  What if there is an emergency?  Will my colleagues be able to "survive" without me?  Can projects continue to move forward even with my absence? 

These questions were answered to me last week when I was watching, CBS News This Morning the other week when they had a health watch about less email, less stress.   The timing of this could not be more perfect and I thought, why not try this.  If less email will help me be healthier and a better worker, then I am on board.  

I have taken a number of vacations since I graduated college but I have always done work on vacation.  Some times it was unavoidable, other trips, the pressure to not unplug from email completely was my own influence.  I always feel that "maintaining" email while you are away will make your first few days back at work less stressful, right?

Unfortunately I haven never found this to be true.  Instead I found myself two days back into my work routine, more stressed out than I was before I left for vacation and secretly wishing to have another vacation soon.  The reason being my mind and body never felt like I had rewarded it with a vacation, because my thumbs and mind were working overtime, when they were suppose to be relaxing and even months later, I regret doing work during my vacations.

I think we are all guilty of this.  Worrying about removing ourselves from society via email.  What is it that is so scary or nerve racking?  I am hoping my hiatus from email and my phone for 5 days will help shed some light on this.   I am hoping that me completely diving into vacation mode head first leaving
 
So here I go not only on vacation, but on an email/phone vacation. Although this may be scary, it is completely necessary.  I am signing off and turning off.  Until next week that is.

Have you ever taken an email vacation?? How did you feel when you returned from taking a long break?